Lightning and Thunder
by Powersthatbe
Summary: When Jace finds out that Clary is training with someone else, he makes a deal with her that seal their fates together. A new rune appears that changes their lives forever. Jace/Clary R/R
1. Jace Finds Out

This is dedicated to my bestest friend Kritio- Girl without you I would be stuck in my trench coat in art class. Thanks for the tackle.

Also, thank you very much to my beta- spikeissexy! Thanks for the helping hand!

As the elevator doors opened, Jace glanced down to see a cat. Not just any cat, but Church.

"Hey Church. Where's Alec, Church, where's Izzy?"

The cat set off down the hall with Jace following.

"How's life, Church? Done anything exciting lately?"

Church stopped in his tracks and meowed conversationally. "Really?" asked Jace, "I never would've thought you would do that." Church meowed again as if to say 'I know' and continued to trot down the hall.

As they rounded a corner Jace found himself in the corridor that lead to the Weapons and Training room.

"Alec?" Jace said. Alec was standing with his ear pressed to the door of the training room.

"Jace!!" Alec motioned to him, "You've _got_ hear this!" Jace strode up the hallway and looked Alec in the eye. "Why are you listening at doors?"

"Because Izzy and Clary have been missing for most of the day and I just found them."

_Inside the Training room…_

The Training room was filled with the sounds of fighting.

"Isabelle!" Clary said out of breath, "We have been at this all day! Why can't we take a break!?"

"Because, you said you wanted the practice and you definitely need it!"

"But for the last 3 hours! I mean really."

"Put some effort into it and 3 taps and THEN you can be done for the day. "

_Alright_, Clary thought. _I can do this_.

She and Isabelle had been training with various weapons, but for the last 2 weeks they had been concentrating on whips and hand to hand combat. Everyday but Sunday for at least 3 hours, sometimes more. They had to find the most random of places to train because Clary was not yet willing for anyone to know what they were doing. Especially Jace. Just the thought of him was enough to make her stomach clench and her heart stutter. Ever since the conversation at Takis there had been a certain rigidity about their interactions with each other. She thought it was ridiculous. How they couldn't just be friends. How they couldn't just be close like Alec and Izzy were.

A sting to the shoulder brought her back to the present.

"Concentrate Clary! Where were you just now? I swear you can disappear completely without leaving the room. I thought you wanted a break before."

"Right, sorry Izzy." Clary said sheepishly.

Clary looked at the other girl in full shadowhunter gear. She had insisted that Clary dress down too every time they trained. Clary didn't mind the gear, it helped her mind focus. But apparently it didn't today.

"Clary! Honestly, are you even going to try? I said effort, not ignorance."

"Right, right. I'm here. Sorry Isabelle. "

Clary circled Isabelle, the only way she was going to finish with this training was if she concentrated. Clary watched her shoulders for any sign of which arm she was going to use. Even though Izzy carried her whip in her left hand, Clary had noticed right away that it didn't matter, the girl could change her mind in an instant. She saw her opening immediately; Isabelle struck out with her whip in her left hand, she flicked her wrist and lightly tapped Isabelle's right side with her own whip.

"Very good, Clary! Let's see what you can do with the angel blades."

They switched weapons and started again. Both circling the other, waiting for that golden opportunity to strike. Clary saw it first.

She had slowly backed Izzy to the corner of the mat, and knew the girl wasn't expecting the 3 inch drop off the mat. After Izzy took her next step, Clary swept in and while the girl was regaining her balance tapped her in the mid section knocking her onto her back. Jumping to land with her knees on either side of Isabelle, Clary brought the angel blade to rest lightly on her stomach.

Clary, slightly breathless said, "And that's three. Awesome! Time for a shower! "

Izzy laughed. "You did wonderful Clary! Just be glad you didn't use that move on Jace or Alec. Or even if front of them. Jace doesn't enjoy being pinned and Alec wouldn't let it go that you had to use the edge of the mat for help. "

"It wasn't help! " Clary said outraged as she helped Izzy to stand. "It was being aware of my surroundings and using them! "

They laughed knowing it was an argument that Jace and Alec had many times.

_Back out in the hallway…_

Alec looked at Jace, both having listened to the door for the past several minutes.

"What do you think?" Alec asked.

"I can't believe Isabelle has been doing this behind our backs, and not consulting someone before she started Clary's training. Don't you think she should have included us? "

"What are you upset about? The fact that someone else is getting close to Clary or the fact that Clary didn't ask you to train her? "

"Neither! I am upset because Isabelle is training her with whips! Don't you think she should have started with agility or balance training? "

"I think that Isabelle is doing a fine job, but I do find something wrong with the training."

"Yeah, what's that? "

"I wouldn't have let her pull that move on me."

Jace grinned. "It's a perfectly good and acceptable move to use in any situation."

They started to walk down the hallway still arguing about the move.

When they got to the library, they stopped and looked at each other.

"What are you going to do about their training?" Asked Alec.

"Nothing, for now. I think I am going to use it for black mail. Definitely black mail."

"Whatever you want, just be sure that you are ready to go tonight. Izzy wants us to go back to that club."

"Pandemonium? Why? I didn't think that there was anymore demon activity there."

Alec laughed. "Oh no, she wants to go dancing." Alec turned and walked away.


	2. Jace Makes a Decision

**Disclaimer: I forgot to mention the fact that I own nothing of the Mortal Instruments series or Jace and Clary. They belong to the wonderfully talented Cassandra Clare. I am just borrowing them for some fun, but I will return them as soon as I am finished with her…I mean them. ******

**In addition: I am not sure who owns the characters/show of Lilo and Stich, but I needed to borrow those as well. Thank you to Pixar (?).**

**Also, a HUGE thank you goes out to all of those people who reviewed my first chapter. Thank you guys! I really, really appreciate it. Reviews make me all warm and fuzzy inside (although, so does the thought of Jace…). **

The three of them went to Pandemonium to relax and recuperate. Only an hour into the dancing, and Jace had spotted a gnirpdemon slinking around the dance floor to the bar from the direction of the kitchen. Isabelle knew from the manic gleam in Jace's eye that the dancing and fun were over. Well, at least the dancing was over.

Jace immediately reached for his stele and grabbed Isabelle's wrist gently. He connected the lines between the two ovals on the inside of her wrist and then turned to do Alec's. After Alec had activated Jace's concealment mark, making sure that the mundanes surrounding them could no longer see them, the three traveled to the back of the club where the demon was talking to a young girl of about 14. The minute the demon saw them he started turned from the girl and retrace his steps. Alec, seeing what he was about to do, quickly circled around and guided the demon towards a darkened passageway leading to a set back stairs.

They maneuvered themselves to surround the demon in a half circle, effectively cutting off his exit. Jace took out his angel blade naming it as he did so.

"Now, do we all remember our demonology classes? This is a Gnirp demon, so make sure you get it in the heart the first time. I do not want to lose another pair of pants to a demon." Jace said, never taking his eyes off the demon in front of them.

The Gnirp was casting a strong glamour of an older teen, but underneath were hideously grotesque features. He had two sets of eyes one set on top of the other, blinking likes cats do. The three sets of sharp, needle-like teeth were dripping an orange clumpy liquid that burned and hissed when it touched the floor. It reminded Izzy of the cartoon that Max was so fond of: Lilo and Stitch. But she highly doubted this one was going to be talking about Ohana anytime soon.

"Right" Isabelle and Alec said together. Izzy flicked her wrist so her whip uncoiled onto the floor and Alec reached into his belt for a seraph blade and dagger. As Jace engaged the demon in playful banter, Izzy caught the demon's arm holding it at an odd angle while Alec raced in to stab it in the chest.

Suddenly and without any warning; they were covered in a green slime.

"Jace, you said that Gnirp demons just go back to their home dimensions when you stab them." Alec said.

"They do, but only when you stab them in their hearts." Jace replied.

"I did"

"No, you stabbed it in the chest."

"Well, if their heart isn't in their chest then where is it!?"

Jace grinned. "In their right knee" And with that, he stepped around Alec and Isabelle to stab the demon.

"Someone was _not _paying attention in class." Isabelle remarked, flicking green goop off of her whip and bracelets. "I need a shower", she added.

The three of them turned on their heels and marched out of the club, ignoring the demon now disappearing behind them.

Alec, Isabelle and Jace stepped out of the elevator covered in a green substance that smelled like over cooked cabbage. Isabelle sidestepped the boys and headed straight for the shower.

"Someone check on Max, I think he was headed up to the greenhouse to ask Clary something about those magazines she is always bringing him" she tossed over her shoulder. Her _green_ _slime_ covered shoulder.

"I'll do it, but I am not walking all that way in these clothes. Shower first, Max second." Jace said.

Jace entered his room shedding layers of dirty clothes as he went. When he was down to nearly nothing, he put the other clothes in the trash can next to his bathroom door and tied the bag closed. He did not want that smell in his room for weeks!

He walked into his bathroom, glanced at the mirror and had to take a double look. _Is that really me? _ His reflection showed a young man with a smooth complexion flecked with green slime. He grinned. It looked like he had green highlights and green pimples. If only Clary could see him now. She wouldn't have any trouble seeing him as only her brother.

_Not that she has any problem with that now_, he thought, scowling at his reflected image. The thought of Clary made him feel warm with contentment, hot with anger, and cold with dread all at the same time. He turned away, pushing away all of the confusing thoughts his sis…his Clary provoked in him. In his mind, he refused to even think the _S_ word. Jace turned the water on in the shower and, shedding the last of his clothes, stepped into the warm spray.

When he was done and dressed, he proceeded up the stairs to the greenhouse. He wondered what she would be doing in the greenhouse. He missed the time that he and Clary had spent in the greenhouse before…

_Enough!_ He wondered if he was ever going to be able to look at Clary the way Alec looked at Izzy. _Probably not_, he thought ruefully. He didn't really want to change the way he looked at Clary. He knew in his heart that there was something more between them than just family affection, but he also knew it was going to take something big to show her that. He loved her more than life itself, but wouldn't admit it to himself or to her. At least not when he was awake.

He reached the top of the stairs and stopped suddenly at a noise that he hadn't heard in a long time: laughter. As quiet as a mouse, Jace slipped into the room and crept towards the center of the room where plants had been put aside to make room for a large circle of bricks set slightly into the soft dirt.

What he saw made him stop in his tracks again. Clary had always been able to surprise him, but this? This made Jace speechless.

There, on the ground, sitting with their backs against each other and laughing hysterically, was Max and Clary. Jace looked at Clary, her head thrown back and her red curls streaming behind her like a waterfall of fire. _By the Angel, she is beautiful_, he thought. Jace forcibly moved his gaze from Clary and looked at Max. He grinned to himself, Max was covered in dirt and looked as though he had been rolling in it. It was a good thing that Mayrise and Robert were out at a function tonight for the Clave or Mayrise would have a cow…and a calf…and a bull about the amount of dirt Max was going to trek through the institute.

Jace cleared his throat and wiped his face clean of emotion before Clary could catch the amused expression on his face. Although, he had an inclination that no matter what he does, she can still see what he tries to hide.

Clary looked up and saw Jace standing there.

_They got back a whole lot sooner than I expected. I hope everything went okay._

She nudged Max and he stopped laughing and looked over at her and then at what she was looking at.

"Jace!" Max yelled, getting up and running to him. "You have to see what I helped Clary do. You know what she has been doing? She's been doing what Hodge used to do. Isn't that amazing? Where did you go? Did you have fun? Did you get to kill any demons? Where are Alec and Izzy? What time is it? You seem to be back earlier than normal. How come you look like you showered? What happened?"

"Max!" Clary interrupted. "Deep breath buddy. How is he going to answer your questions if you don't give him time to between questions? Why don't you go get cleaned up and then I am sure Jace will walk back down with you."

Max nodded and immediately jumped up and ran to get washed up in the sink set up in the back wall of the greenhouse.

Clary looked at Jace. "Did you guys have fun?"

Jace grinned briefly. "Oh yeah, we did"

"That smile scares me. What happened?"

"Gnirp demon." He answered, "just one though, it was nothing we couldn't handle."

"Oh."

"I am going to get Max cleaned up and make sure he goes to bed, but then you and I need to talk."

"About what?" She questioned.

"About what you are going to do to repay me for the fact that you didn't choose me to train you."

With that, he turned and walked away.

**A/N: Sorry Guys, I found more mistakes on this. Chapter 3 and 4 will be up shortly! They are done, just being reviewed. Thanks for your patience!**


	3. Discovering the Greenhouse

**A/N: Hey guys! I know that it is moving a tad bit slow. Do not fear, after I explain just a few more things, it will move along at a faster pace. Also, I must note that I do not like this Sebastian kid, or the girl that makes out with Jace. I am just going to write this story starting from the end of book 2 and pretend like book 3 does not exist. No offence to Ms. Clare, but I want to take it in a different direction. However, that does not mean that I won't be so excited I won't be able to sleep the night before it comes out- Kinda like a kid before Christmas. Also, I am trying to develop the characters a little more, showing you what I think of them. So they may not necessarily fit Ms. Clare's description, but I hope they won't be too far off as well. **

***I do not own any of the songs that come out of Clary's iPod.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! **

Clary watched Jace and Max head towards the door that lead to the stars, then she scrambled to her feet knowing she only had a little while to finish her project.

Clary had been working tirelessly to bring the greenhouse back to its former glory. She had found Hodge's notes concerning the various plants and had planned to pick up where he left off. No one but Luke and Robert Lightwood knew that Clary had been living at the Institute for a few weeks now. It had all started when Clary had asked Isabelle to train her. She had been so tired one night that the only place she could think of where no one would disturb her was the greenhouse.

So up the stairs she had trudged to find the greenhouse in complete disarray. She found a wonderful outlet for her stress in the greenhouse and she was proud of her progress. She had had to tell Luke she wasn't going to be home that night but realized she must have left her cell phone in the kitchen earlier.

When she got to the kitchen, she was surprised to find Robert Lightwood sitting at the table.

"Oh," she said. "I thought everyone had gone out to dinner"

Robert looked up from the book he was reading and smiled.

"Its quite alright. I am glad that you found me. Come in Clarissa and sit down. Would you like something to drink?"

"I can get it." She said moving to the fridge. She got a class of water and sat down.

"Clarissa-" he started.

"Please call me Clary- Clarissa sounds like I'm in trouble. Unless, I am...?"

"Not at all. I just wanted to say how proud I am of you."

She was shocked. _Proud of me? Why?_

He must've read the question in her expression. "To see someone want to improve their skills is wonderful. To see someone of your age actually taking steps to accomplish that is something truly inspiring." He answered the unspoken question.

Clary just blinked in surprise.

"I am not sure who you are getting to train you, I just know that gleam of determination in your eyes every time I see you practically falling over from exhaustion. I am sure your mother would be proud." He said, smiling at the look on her face.

"Izzy." She mumbled staring at the table.

He laughed. "I was so sure that it would be Jace, but then you wouldn't be able to walk at all. His determination far outstrips yours."

"So you don't think I would've done better by asking Jace to train me?" She asked curiously.

"Oh, I think eventually you are going to have to ask Jace to train you. Izzy can only take you so far, and trust me, Jace will carry you a lot farther then Izzy and Alec combined."

She gaped at him in shock.

"I am not saying anything is wrong with the way my children train. It just seems like Jace needs to prove himself more. Does that make sense?"

She nodded, understanding clear in her eyes.

Seeing her look, he decided it was time to change the subject.

"What were you doing before you came looking for your phone?"

"I have decided to fix up the greenhouse" she said, laughing when she saw he jaw drop as hers just did.

"It is in complete disarray. But I have made some progress; do you want to see?" She asked.

He nodded, "Maybe I can help."

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

As it turned out, Robert Lightwood knew a lot about gardening.

He told her the first place to start was moving all of the supplies out from the storage room into the area they were going to start with: the herbs. So, she grabbed a bag of mulch and started to lug it away from the back wall. The bag was very heavy, so she let it go with a huff, knowing she was going to have to change her position if she wanted to move it. The bag fell against the wall with a dull thud and shake. She glanced at the wall and realized there was light coming from the other side. Quickly, she dug her stele out of her pocket and carved an 'open' rune on the wall. The wall opened out, like a door, to reveal a hidden room.

Robert Lightwood came around the side of the door to see Clary was no where in sight and there was an open passageway where the wall should have been. He followed it back to find Clary sitting in a patch of sunlight on a bed.

She looked up. "Do you realize who's this was?"

He shook his head.

"It was Hodge's. I found his notes on the plants in the desk over there". She pointed to his left and when he looked to his right he found a door leading to a bathroom.

He turned to find her looking at him, with an almost pleading look in her eye. He sighed wearily.

"You want to stay here, don't you?"

She nodded enthusiastically.

He sighed again. "I will make sure that no one else knows but Mayrise. Also, I think you had better tell Lucian that you will not being staying with him."

Luke had taken it surprising well, considering she was going to be staying with the one group of people her mother ran from. Clary told Luke that she was only staying at the institute for as long as it took her to get the greenhouse back in working shape.

Clary was brought back to the present by a loud crash of pottery breaking. She looked down to see a pot broken. She was leaning so hard against one of the work tables that she had been pushing the table at an angle, when the pot had slipped off and shattered.

After the mess was clean, she plugged in her iPod and began the working on her favorite project. She knew that she was going to need her project before she saw Jace again. She had found Hodge's notes on something called a Rune Circle. Apparently, the creator of a Rune Circle had to be very powerful and put a lot of emotion into the circle. The circle was made of bricks, laid into the dirt with runes carved into the bottom (the side facing the dirt). The creator could put whatever he or she wanted onto the bricks, but they had to be sure that's what they wanted. When a Rune Circle is finished a slight circle of light would shimmer over the top of the bricks, almost as if it were lighting the way. There was only one way to destroy a circle- destroy the creator. A few people had created circles that were used to weaken their enemies when they stepped into the light so they could be easily defeated. Others created the circle to invoke peace into whoever stepped into the light. Clary wanted a circle that caused whoever was in the circle to be calm, peaceful, and joyful. There was enough fighting in this dimension without the addition of sinister circles.

When the last brick was set into the ground, Clary took off her shoes and socks- she had read somewhere that when you entered a Holy or sacred place, it was customary to take off your shoes- and stepped into the light. Suddenly, she was filled with peace. She danced lightly around the circle until she found a brick that was slightly warmer than the rest. She sat cross legged on the ground and took a deep breath, just as her iPod began to play _"Why Can't I" by Liz Phair._


	4. Let's make a deal

**A/N: Hello again! I hope you are all enjoying this as much as I am enjoying writing it. As I have said before- I know it is moving slow, but I have BIG plans for this story. Please let me know what you think! **

**Also Guys, I just want to take the time and let you know that I do NOT like song fics. However, I heard this song and immediately knew that I had to put it in here somewhere. I think I will do this in the future, but only put bits and pieces like I did here. **

***I do not own any of the songs that come out of Clary's iPod.**

_When the last brick was set into the ground, Clary took off her shoes and socks- she had read somewhere that when you entered a Holy or sacred place, it was customary to take off your shoes- and stepped into the light. Suddenly, she was filled with peace. She danced lightly around the circle until she found a brick that was slightly warmer than the rest. She sat cross legged on the ground and took a deep breath, just as her iPod began to play "Why Can't I" by Liz Phair. _

This is exactly how Jace found her. He had come back upstairs to talk to her and found her in a circle of yellow light. She was sitting so still, he knew it was wrong to disturb her, but he was just so tempted. He was sorely tempted anytime he was around Clary though, so he supposed it was nothing new.

So he took off his shoes and stepped into the light. He felt a pleasant sensation crawl along his body and come to rest at the top of his spine. When he looked down, he discovered the light had turned green. He grinned. _I guess that is a go, then. _

He turned and began to walk the circle. Feeling differently with every step he took. Suddenly he found a spot that just felt 'right' and he sat down. The spot where he sat was directly to Clary's right. He smiled faintly, but the grin slid off his face when he heard the lyrics to the song playing softly in the back ground.

_Why Can't I breathe whenever I think about you_

_Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you_

_It's inevitable, it's a fact that we're gonna get down to it_

_So tell me_

_Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you. _

He wondered if Clary ever felt the way that he felt. She never talked about the way she felt about him unless she was angry with him. But, he felt like he couldn't breathe around her. His heart clenched with the thought of her and how he was never going to get to hold her the way that he wanted to. Never just touch her for the sake of feeling her skin against his.

Suddenly he stood up. He couldn't sit next to her anymore and not breathe in her scent, or touch all that soft skin he knew she had.

He walked around the circle until he felt calmer and found another spot that felt comfortable. Not as right as when he sat next to her, but just as calming.

He watched her for a few minutes until; finally, she gave a slight start and said his name under her breath. She opened her eyes and looked straight into his.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Clary had been concentrating so hard on her breathing that when she realized she wasn't in the greenhouse anymore, but sitting on a bench in Central Park, she started violently.

"It's alright, Clary." Her mother said calmly.

Clary looked to her left and realized that her mother was sitting next to her.

"We have to stop meeting like this", Clary said.

"I know. Eventually I will wake up and we can do this for real". Her mother grinned at her.

"So what do you want to carve on me this time; another protection rune, or maybe a rune dealing with weapons? The Angel only knows that I could use some more practice."

Her mother laughed lightly.

"If you needed more practice, why are you training with Isabelle Lightwood and not Jace?"

"How do you know who I am training with? How do you know that I am training?"

"I am your mother, Clary. I know a lot of things about you that you think I don't know"

"Mom, you don't understand. There are things between me and Jace that I can't face. If we were to train together they would all come up." Clary said, half hysterical with the thought of training with Jace.

"Clarissa Fray! I can't believe you. You were never one to run from problems or feelings." Her mother said, looking her daughter in the eye.

Clary glanced down at her feet, surprised to see her shoes back on. She could've sworn she took them off before she got into the circle.

"I think I am in love with my brother", she confessed to her feet.

"Clary, you need to follow your heart. The mind is a wonderful and complex thing; however, it also confuses and complicates things. We are in the middle of a war, Clarissa; you really think that anyone would care if you trained with your brother?"

She looked at her mother, shocked to see understanding and compassion in her eyes. Her mother's eyes so like her own. She took a deep breath and asked the thing she was almost afraid of asking.

"So you think I should train with Jace?"

"I think you need to train with the shadowhunter that will teach you what you need to know and not hold back. Who do you think that is, Clary?"

"Jace" Clary breathed and with that, she opened her eyes to find Jace sitting across from her staring at her.

"Dreaming about me, Clarissa?" He asked cockily.

"No. I just had a wonderfully enlightening conversation with Mom."

She watched as Jace's face ranged from shock, disbelief, understanding and curiosity.

"What did dear old mum have to say?"

She rolled her eyes at him and just barely restrained the urge to stick out her tongue. She knew that would get her no where.

"She said that I needed to ask you to train me."

Jace laughed. "How did she know that you were training with Isabelle?"

She shrugged. "How did you know? And what were you talking about black mail?"

"I found Alec listening by the door while you two trained. I would've thought if you were serious about training you would've come to me. Or were you too scared to train with a highly skilled warrior?"

She laughed. "Your ego grows more each day. Soon you will have to walk sideways through doors." She grew more serious. "I do want you to train me though, if you are willing."

Jace was stunned. "If you wanted me to train you, why didn't you ask me first?"

She stood up and came around the circle to sit right in front of him, their knees almost touching. "Jace, I was scared. I was worried you would laugh at me. I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep up with you and you would just get frustrated."

He took a deep breath, trying not to breathe in her scent as he did so. He knew as soon as he did, he would just cave in and not worry about the consequences.

"So what changed?" He asked.

"My mom clearly told me that a war was starting and that I needed to train with the best."

He grinned and leaned towards her, so close he was able to count all of her freckles. He took one of her curls in his hand, looping it around his finger. He murmured to her, "Flattery will get you anywhere, Clary. Where do you want to go?"

Her heart stopped and started back up again faster than she would've thought possible. She knew she shouldn't, but she gave in and flirted back.

"Anywhere you can take me, Jace" she said to him, her voice going breathy like it normally did when he got to close to her.

Jace couldn't believe she was playing this game with him. And _by the Angel_, he loved her voice like that: loved it even more because he was the only one to make it that way. When she took the opportunity to bite her bottom lip because she was nervous he almost cried with frustration. He knew what that lip tasted like. He looked up from her the lips to find her staring at his. He inwardly grinned. He wondered if the frustration worked both ways. He gently took his bottom lip between his teeth and bit down. When he saw her pupils contract he knew that he was a goner. He either had to kiss her or get the hell away from her.

"Clary?" He asked, almost begging for permission.

She backed away slightly and looked up from his lips.

"I would like you to train me." She said, hoping her voice had returned to a normal pitch by now. It hadn't. She saw his eyes harden as she backed further away. She just couldn't think with him that close.

"I will, but I have a few conditions though."

She grinned. "Only a few?"

"One, you have to do exactly what I say when it comes to your training. Two, no one else gets to train you but me. No one else gets to take care of you when you can't move, because trust me, you will get to that position."Clary refused to let her mind wander at this point. "And last, you have to cook."

"I have to **what**?"

"Cook. The Lightwoods are going back to Idris for a war council of sorts, and I can **not** deal with another couple of weeks of Isabelle's cooking. You had a mother, she must've taught you how to cook." He explained.

She lifted an eyebrow at him. (Magnus had taught her one night while everyone was out hunting demons and they were bored.)

"So in exchange for your training and doing what you say with regards to the training, I am going to cook for you, Isabelle, and Alec for the next couple of weeks?" Clary was trying to understand what he was asking of her.

"And Max. Mayris and Robert do not want to take him to a war council. They think that he will have more fun here with just us." He clarified.

She stuck out her hand and he took it. They both ignored the shock that went through them as they touched.

"Deal", they said at the same time.

"Training starts at dawn so you should get what sleep you can." Jace smirked. _This is going to be fun!_

**A/N: There it is! I hope you all are enjoying it. Don't make me wonder! Let me know if you are!**


	5. First Day of Training

Jace was looking through his closet trying to find a shirt- any shirt. _Where the hell did all of my shirts go?_ Just then, he heard a noise from outside.

************************************************************************

Clary sat outside Jace's bedroom waiting for dawn to arrive. She knew she was a little early but didn't want to be late. Jace hadn't exactly said where to meet him. She sat with her legs stretched out in front of her playing with the strings of her favorite sweatshirt. It was a little cool in the hallway and Clary hoped Jace would hurry up. She was afraid that she had missed him but then she heard faint movement in his room.

Eventually, Church sauntered up to her and meowed.

"Hey Church" she said reaching out to pet him. He lay down in front of her and rolled onto his back to give her access to his favorite spot. She obliged with a grin.

"I think he is right; you are spoiled"

"I'm always right." Jace said reaching behind him to close his door. He was dressed in the shadowhunter pants and a long sleeved black shirt. He looked good with his hair a few inches longer from when Mayris had last cut it.

Clary scrambled to her feet and mock saluted him. "Reporting for duty, Sir"

"Ready and willing?" Jace asked with a grin.

"You know it, big brother" she replied with a wink.

The smile on Jace's face seemed to be forced all of the sudden. "Great. Let's go then. "

But just then they heard footsteps running along the hallway after them. Max appeared around the corner speeding towards them. He slid to a stop in front of them, asking breathlessly "Where ya going?"

Clary grinned down at Max. "Jace is going to train me to be a better shadowhunter."

"Cool" Max breathed. "Can I come?"

Jace and Clary glanced at each other, their unspoken words speaking volumes. Suddenly the tension broke and Clary ruffled Max's hair. "Sure squirt, but you have to be quiet at all times, alright?"

"Sure Clary!" They could tell Max was ecstatic from the way he bounced down the hall.

Jace led the way into the weapons room with Clary and Max whispering to each other behind him. He wasn't sure when they had become so close, but he was glad that someone noticed Max. It would be nice for him to have a friend while his parents were away.

He walked to the middle of the room and spun on his heel. Clary came to a sudden halt a few feet from him when she saw the calculating look in his eye. Normally, that did not bode well for her. She just hoped that he would get the torture over quickly.

"What are you wearing?" Jace asked, eyeing her faded sweatshirt and Capri style sweatpants, bunched up around her knees. Her shoes were sturdy enough looking at least. _She looks kinda hot, actually. Who would've thought that those clothes would look good on anyone?_

"What? You didn't tell me what to wear, and considering it would scare people if I walked around naked, I thought I would wear something comfortable and loose." She said, slightly defiantly.

"Those will work for today, but tomorrow I expect you in full shadowhunter gear." He said turning to face the mirror and gesturing for her to copy his movements. She moved beside him pulling her hair into a messy bun as she did so.

"To start the day: we are going to do some basic stretches, go for a run in Central Park and to end the day, study demonology and weapons."

She just nodded, afraid to say anything to this new, drill sergeant Jace.

"Right, I am going to do the stretches and you will copy the moves, paying special attention to the way my body moves through each movement. Once we have gone over them twice, I will come behind you and correct what you are doing wrong."

He started by pulling his arm over his head at an angle, then he bent his arm stretching the muscles from his elbow to his shoulder. He repeated the motion with his other arm. After that, he moved to the wall at lay his hand at shoulder level. Walking his way towards the mirror he let his arm lay behind him on the mirror, stretching his shoulder out. "The reason why we concentrate solely on the shoulders and arms at first is that we want to be able to move in full range. How can we throw knives, use blades or shoulder our bows if we don't have full range of our arms?"

She nodded, copying his movements as best as she could. Next, they moved back into the middle of the room, holding their arms out in the 'cross' position. He moved his arms in small circles, gradually making bigger and bigger circles. He dropped his arms to his waist at took off his long sleeve shirt so he could throw it in the corner. He then linked his arms together behind his back and bent at the waist while moving his arms over his head. Clary did not immediately copy the act, as she was concentrating especially on the way his body moved. That shirt he just took off did nothing for him, but his naked chest underneath the shirt did. _Yum_, she thought. _No wonder girls giggle when they see him. I feel like giggling myself. And when he bends like that, by the _Angel!

Jace looked up to see Clary looking at him with a look he couldn't quite define. She looked almost hungry…Jace gulped. "Clary?"

"Hmm?" she murmured not looking at his face, but his well defined chest.

He stepped right up to her until he could whisper to her. "You know, if you wanted to see me half dressed all you had to do was ask."

"I didn't…I don't…I'm not…Oh! Get over yourself. I was just doing what you told me to do." She said, her face close to her hair color by now. She hated it when he caught her looking; she hated it when she couldn't stop herself from looking.

Jace wanted to say something, but remembered that Max was in the room. He looked over to see Max slumped slightly, sleeping against the wall. He still shouldn't risk it.

"We are going to start the leg stretches. First, you want to make sure not to over do it. A pulled muscle is not a happy muscle." He groaned to himself, thinking of all the ways she could take that. Almost hoping she would take it the wrong way…or was that the right way?

He sat on the ground, making a V with his legs. Leaning to one side he stretched his left leg and then his right. He pulled them into the 'butterfly' position and stretched his inner thigh muscles. He got up and headed over to the wall again, placing his hands at shoulder level facing the mirror. He put one foot behind him on the ground and stretched out his calf and ankle muscles, then repeated the motion with his other leg.

"That is the gist of the stretches, now run through them again and I will correct you."

She did as she was told, running through each set and pausing slightly for him to correct her. And correct her, he did…a lot.

When she moved her arm over her head to her opposite shoulder he came up from behind and moved her hand slightly down her arm. "This will give you more of an angle." He said, and she shivered to feel his breath on the back of her neck.

"Are you cold?"

"Not at all, actually it's kinda hot in here."

"Please, by all means, get comfortable. We will be here for a while." He said, almost wishing she would shed some of her layers.

"I'm okay, let's keep going." She did not even want to think about taking off _any_ of her clothes in front of him.

Jace watched as Clary went through the next sent of stretches, but when she locked her hands behind her back and bent over he knew he had had enough.

"Ok. I think you got the gist of it."

Clary stood up and turned to face him. His voice sounded funny.

"You ok?"

"Yea", he murmured. "Let's go for that run now."

She knew that she couldn't run in her sweat shirt so, even though she didn't want to think about taking off clothes in front of him, she took it off anyway and headed for the door. Jace stopped her with his hand wrapped around her elbow.

"Clary, is that my shirt?"

_Crap. _She looked down at what she was wearing. Sure enough, it was one of his shirts.

"Not at all", she said, trying to go for casual tone.

"Clary." He stepped right up to her and peeked at the tag. "Then why does it have a 'J' on it?"

"Ok" she said resigned. "Max, Isabelle and I were playing hide and seek a few weeks ago when you and Alec were off doing whatever is was that you were doing. I was hiding by your night stand-"

"How did you get into my room?" He interrupted outraged.

"Church let me in." She hurried on, quickly. "Anyways, I put my elbow up to brace myself so I could look around and that stupid cup of water you always have right there spilled ALL over me. So, I found a shirt I know you don't wear and changed."

"I want it back!"

"But it doesn't fit you!"

"I don't care! I want it back. _Now!_"

"Fine." She reached for the hem of his shirt. She got it about halfway up to her chest when his hands shot out and grasped hers.

"What are you doing?"

"Giving you back your shirt."

"Clary! You can wait until you get another shirt."

"Ok", she said smiling. She wouldn't have taken it off, but it was funny to watch his reaction. She tried to step away from him and realized his hands had somehow fallen to settle around her waist.

"Jace?" The word had all sorts of questions in it.

"Hmm?" He said still looking down at her waist.

She stepped closer to him and leaned into him to whisper in his ear. She opened her mouth and said...nothing. Because at that moment, the door opened.

Alec and Isabelle stepped into the room and looked around.

"What's going on?" Alec asked.

"Nothing." Jace said, not stepping back from Clary.

"Sure, 'cause it looks like nothing.", said Isabelle.

"Jace was inspecting this shirt to see if it was his." Supplied Clary.

"And?" Asked Alec.

"It IS mine. She stole it."

There was silence for a moment until, "Clary I thought you stole his black shirt."

"Isabelle!", Clary growled.

"Just how many shirts of my shirts do you have? " Jace said, turning to glare at her. It didn't seem like he was going to let go of her anytime soon. Truthfully, Jace only knew that his hands were happy where they were and he didn't feel like moving them.

"5", Clary mumbled under her breath.

"Why do you have 5 of my shirts?"

"'Cause they smell good." She mumbled even lower.

"What's going on?" asked a small voice from the other side of the room.

Max was awake and looking at them with a curious expression on his face. Immediately, Jace noticed where his hands were and he gently removed them. Clary stepped towards Max, but Isabelle stopped her.

"Max, why don't you go watch TV or something?"

"But I wanna stay here with Jace and Clary!" Max whined.

"Hey Max! Wanna do me a huge favor?" Clary asked. "Will you go start breakfast? I left instructions on the oven door. Everything is ready, all you have to do is turn on the oven."

Max nodded, only slightly glumly, and left the room.

"We can talk about this later. We need to get going if you are going to start demonology today." Jace said, not looking at her and walking towards the door.

"Wait! We need to pick out our outfits for tonight." Isabelle interrupted quickly before Jace could get all the way out into the corridor.

"What's going on tonight?" asked Alec, predictably.

"Clary and I have a blind date!" Isabelle said cheerfully.

Instantly Jace was back in the room and standing in front of Clary.

_Holy Crap! How does he move that fast?_

Clary stepped back a pace and cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Who are you going out with?" demanded Jace and Alec at the same time.

"Two young warlocks; Magnus is introducing us." said Isabelle.

"Magnus called Izzy yesterday and wanted to know if we were interested in a blind date with a couple of warlocks that saw us at his party last week. She said that we were, without asking me, and Magnus set it all up. When I tried to back out, she guilt tripped me and now I am stuck going." Clary explained with a sigh.

"Are you going to let your sister date a warlock?" Jace demanded of Alec, incredulously.

"Are you?" Alec countered. "Warlocks aren't so bad. Besides, Isabelle can take care of herself. From what I have heard, so can Clary. Relax, Jace!"

"Great, so just because you are dating a Warlock means that they can too?"

"Jace!" Clary intervened before they could really get going. "It's one date, at a public place, with two warlocks that the High Warlock of Brooklyn knows personally. I think we will be fine."

"Whatever. Let's go run." Jace moved towards the door; Clary shrugged at Izzy and followed him.

**Sorry it took me sooo long guys! I am trying to write as fast as possible! I NEED reviews to keep me going!**


	6. A Run and A Conversation

**Hey guys! Thank you so much for reviewing and all the wonderful feedback. I try to thank each of you personally, but this week has been CRAZY at work. I didn't have this beta'd either(all errors are mine). Speaking of which, if anyone is interested I need help with punctuation and story flow…also….I am not sure if I am going to take this story to an M rating, but just in case, I need a beta that can do that as well. Some of you may be wondering why I haven't looked at the betas for this series- I have. The ones that I have PMed, haven't gotten back to me so I am reduced to begging. I do have to say thank you to my first ever beta- spikeissexy. I really appreciated all the help she has given me. Anyways! Enough of my babbling on with the story! Also, Happy St. Patrick's Day! **

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Clary followed Jace down the institute steps and into a cab.

"Central park."

"Please." Clary added, glaring at Jace for his bad manners. He didn't seem to notice.

The cab swerved into traffic, knocking Clary against Jace. He caught her and gently pushed her away from him. He was still very tense, but his expression was neutral. However, that's what his expression was most of the time, so it wasn't any indicator of how he was really feeling. After a few minutes, the cab dropped them off at the entrance to Central Park.

_It is odd to be here_, thought Clary. After talking with her mother here only a few hours ago, she now wondered if her mother knew she would be here with Jace.

_Jace_. She sighed. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to approach him about what was wrong. Clary remembered what Isabelle said in the library about Jace not lying. She was very unsure if she wanted to know the truth.

Jace had paid the cabbie, got out of the car and, without turning to see if she was following, walked straight over to the nearest bench and sat down. Clary followed reluctantly. She wondered idly if he would notice if she just went back to the institute. Her luck though, he probably would. So, she followed him, reluctantly, and sat down.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, Clary. We will start from here and stop when I say so. Try to keep up."

She grimaced. _Great._ This sounded like it was going to be fun. She should've thought about an endurance rune. Damn.

He stood up and glanced and her. She was fiddling with her iPod. When she saw him looking, she held it up. "Do you mind?"

He shrugged and took off at a slow pace. He knew she wasn't going to be able to keep up. Instead of out pacing her quickly, he went at a pace he hoped she could take. He couldn't let her get too far away from him.

He laughed bitterly to himself. Let her get too far. It felt like she was already too far. A blind date with a warlock! Next, she'd be partying with the faeries at Hot Wings. He wasn't kidding himself with why he was upset though. He knew that he was jealous. He thought you would have to be blind not to see how jealous he was. Unfortunately, it didn't look like he could just play it off to brotherly concern. Not with Alec laughing at his jealousy.

_I just can't help it_, thought Jace. _But even if I could, I wouldn't want to. Something inside me is telling me that she is mine. __**Mine**__. That's all that matters. I wonder if Alec could weasel the information out of Magnus about where they were going. Oh yea_, he thought to himself grinning. The idea had definite potential.

Clary jogged behind him slightly shocked that she was still keeping up so well. She knew he must've changed his pace for her. She was touched, still out of breath, but touched all the same. She wondered if he did it on purpose, or if he was just used to slowing down for her. Interesting thought; she would have to ask him.

Her mind just kept going over all of the things that her mother told her. Follow your heart, Clary. What if my heart is just as confused as my head? She couldn't help but replay the scene in the weapons room in her head as she ran behind Jace. She completely ignored the scenery around her and just concentrated on the look on Jace's face when he had found out. That was not the way that she wanted him to find out, but it was too late now. She loved it when he got jealous, but then felt guilty when she enjoyed it. He was her brother. They had to remember that. Brother.

Jace had gradually slowed them down and had come to a complete stop without Clary noticing. She got a few feet from him before she realized she was alone. Trying hard to calm her panic she whirled to find him...laughing at her. _Jerk._

She walked back to where he sat on a bench, sat next to him and turned off her iPod. He produced a bottle of water from somewhere and handed it to her. She took it gratefully.

"Where were you just now?" He asked, taking the bottle from her and drinking from it. Ignoring the thought that it was her lips he was tasting.

"I was thinking about my mother. She and I were here this morning. Actually", she said looking around carefully. "This looks like the exact bench where we sat. Creepy."

He smirked. "You can face down demons, but you call this creepy?"

She nodded and they sat in a comfortable silence, shoulders touching slightly.

"Why the warlock? What happened to the bloodsucker?" He asked suddenly.

She took a deep breath. "Simon" -putting emphasis on his name – "is dating Maia. They have been for a little while now. Actually, right before we met at Taki's." She stopped suddenly, not wanting to talk about that day.

He sensed her hesitancy, and without thought reached up to play with one of her curls that had come loose.

"Not that I want you to date _him_ either, but how come you aren't more depressed about it?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him; she loved that she could do that now.

"Excuse me?"

"What?" He seemed genuinely confused.

"Who would you like me to date then?"

He jaw dropped slightly in shock. It had just occurred to him what he had said. _Oh, shit._

He tried to play it off, "What I don't understand is why you act like it doesn't mean anything to you that he is dating Maia."

"Jace. Do you really think I am going to let that slide? Why do you think that you have some sort of say in who I date?"

"I don't get it! You said you wanted me to be your brother. I am just trying to act like it."

She stood up and began to pace in front of him; her agitation obvious to even the most mundane of mundanes.

"Jace, either act like a brother or something more but _stop_ flirting with the line in between."

"You mean stop flirting with you?" he asked, innocently.

"No! I mean yes. I mean no. Ugh! Don't you think if I knew what I wanted you would know too?"

"Yes." He said simply. "I do think that. I could tell you what you wanted, if you wanted it."

"Jace!" she half yelled at him.

He grinned inwardly. He loved it when she got all riled up- so much fury for such a little person. Outwardly, though, he knew he was in big trouble if she spotted him laughing at her. She may be just a beginner in the shadowhunter world, but he knew what she could do when she put her mind to it.

"What I mean is if you wanted me to tell you what you wanted, I could."

"What makes you think you know me, better than I know myself?"

He grinned. "Haven't you figured out by now that we are just two halves of a whole?"

She stopped walking and looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I think if you follow your mother's advice, you will find all you are looking for." With that, he turned and started the walk back to the entrance to hail a ride.

**Thanks for reading! Now press the little button and tell me what you think!**


	7. The Cricket Interlude

**Hey everyone. Thank you so much for your reviews. I really REALLY appreciate them. This is a slightly shorter chapter than usual- I am sorry about that. Also, this is just a fluffy chapter. I am having a family issue which is causing my brain to go fuzzy and my writing will suffer from it. Forgive this chapter if it is not up to the usual standard. Also, just hang in there with me because the blind date chapter and the one after that are going to be SOOO good. I can't wait. Also- if anyone is keeping track like I am- just ONE MORE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Onward with the story!**

Clary was tired of following Jace around; even if the view was enjoyable. So, she made a point of paying the cab driver and getting out first. As she stepped up to the Institute's doors, she thought about the war that was coming and knew she was going to fight with all that she had. She had barely put her hand on the door, when is swung open gently.

Jace was watching Clary put her hand on the door and wondering what she was going to say in order for it to open, but he was surprised when the door opened silently, even though she hadn't uttered a word.

She glanced at him with a smirk, "Smart door". She led the way into the elevator, but stopped suddenly when she had only gotten a foot inside. Jace slammed into her, but caught her around the waist to keep her from falling forward and hauled her against him.

She gasped. The feeling was incredible- she felt complete. She closed her eyes to enjoy the feel of his arms around her. She didn't think she would ever feel them again after their conversation at Taki's. She held her breath, hoping that he wouldn't move.

Jace, likewise, was not breathing either. It was instinct to catch Clary before she fell, but it was the craving for her that always seem to increase when she was around that caused him to hold her against him. He couldn't help himself; he HAD to breathe in her scent. He gently exhaled. He felt the shiver that ran through her body as his breath ran across the back of her neck. _I was right!_ He thought. _I'm not alone in fighting what I feel. _

But Clary wasn't going to trying to fool anyone- she knew she had feelings for her brother, but what could be done about it? She felt hopeless, but still, she didn't move from his arms. Why should she deny herself the safe and loved feeling?

She jumped slightly when there was a sudden meow. They both looked down at Church. Jace's arms slid gently away from her; his hands skimming her waist purposely.

"Church!" She scolded. "You scared me. What are you doing in the elevator!?"

He meowed. She looked back at Jace to see him leaning against the wall watching her. She blushed when she met his gaze. She couldn't look him in the eye without replaying the feelings he invoked in her.

Jace watched Clary blush. He loved making her blush, which is why he loved touching her even though he knew he shouldn't. He watched as the blush spread down her neck and wondered how far down it went. He forcefully brought himself out of his daydream and watched her talk to Church. The cat was strange- if he wanted you to understand him you would. Apparently, the conversation Clary was having with the cat was personal, because he couldn't understand what Church was saying.

Clary stood up suddenly. "Alright Church, thanks for the warning."

Clary stepped into the elevator and looked at Jace. "Are you coming?"

Jace followed his Clary into the elevator and it started to move.

"What did he say?"

"He told me that Isabelle is planning on a make over for me before out date. He also said I should be aware of what she plans for me to wear. "

"Which is what, exactly?"

Clary gave an uncharacteristic giggle.

You don't want to know."

Jace cocked his head, "Do you really want to have the discussion of what I do and don't want?" His gold eyes flashed at her.

"Umm...no. Church told me she mentioned something about a trench coat and leather skirt."

Jace's eyes flashed again. "Oh really?"

The elevator doors opened with a creak and groan. She made a noncommittal noise, not trusting the look in his eye. She headed towards the residential wing of the Institute and towards the room she normally slept in, but she was stopped by a hand on her arm.

"Where are you going?"

"To shower- is that okay with you?"

"Yes, but make it quick. We have a few more things I want to cover with you today."

He pushed her into her room and shut the door. As he was walking back to his room, he heard her scream. He turned, and in seconds was standing in her room.

"Clary! What's wrong!?"

She was standing, half dressed- his shirt clutched to her chest hiding a sports bra- and standing on the bed, all the color had drained from her face.

He had the fleeting thought that he was jealous of his shirt when her words brought him back.

"Thereisacricket!" She half whispered to him, pointing towards the bathroom door. She was afraid the cricket would hear her and jump. She shuddered; she hated it when they jumped at her.

He looked at the cricket on the door, and back at her. He started to grin.

"Don't you dare laugh at me! I HATE crickets. They are evil! Please, Jace, just kill it. I promise to do anything, just get it away from me."

He chuckled low in his throat and whipped out a small knife. He threw it at the door, where it stuck- pinning the cricket to the door.

"Eww! Jace.. That's disgusting! Now get it off the door!"

He got rid of the offending creature and cleaned his knife before walking over to the bed. She was still in the same position as before. The grin slid of his face, "Clary, are you all right? You look like you are going to faint."

She tried to focus on him, but the room was spinning. "Jace", she mumbled.

He quickly grabbed her from the bed and sat her down on the floor before she could fall. Immediately, she sprang back up and into his arms. "There might be more!!"

He laughed. "Do you want to use my shower?"

She hid her head in his neck and nodded.

**See? Don't you want more now? Stay tuned! (Also, reviews would be sooo helpful!)**


	8. I am NOT wearing that!

**Hello Everyone! Thank you so much for all of the wonderful reviews. I really appreciate the feedback. This chapter is dedicated to the wonderfully talented Ms. Cassandra Clare. May I just say for everyone- thank you, thank you, thank you. Without you, my life would be boring. Also, thank you for Jace (sigh) and can I just say YUM. You rock girl!**

**If anyone would like to talk about the last (mournful sigh) book, PM me, or email or whatever you want. **

**Warning: Not beta'd**

**Onward!**

After Jace had checked the shower, the closet, and behind the toilet for crickets, Clary showered and dressed and waited for Jace to do the same. Then they headed down to the kitchen, where Clary made them sandwiches and after they had eaten, they headed to the library for Clary's Demonology lesson.

She followed him into the library and into the very back shelves.

"Jace why are we going back here? I thought the demon books were up front."

"You're right, this is just history." He spun quickly and faced her.

"Clary, you owe me."

"For what?" She demanded, outraged.

"For the cricket."

She shrugged, all the rage leaving her. "Al right, what do you want."

"I want to come with you on your date."

She started to laugh, "Jace, I don't think this warlock is your type."

He leaned in close to her. "The only one who is going tonight that is my type is you". He told her gently.

"The mundanes have a saying Jace; 'three is a crowd'."

"Oh!" He exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. "We have that saying too, only it's about demons; three is just practice."

"Jace!" She said exasperatedly. "Why do you want to come anyway?"

"I want to know you are safe."

She started laughing again. "First of all, I will be with Isabelle. Secondly, I'm going with a _warlock_. A warlock that Magnus introduced us to. Do you really think he set us up with anyone who is dangerous? And I can protect myself! Not only have you taught me, but so has Isabelle. Stop with this brotherly act of concern and tell me what's really bothering you."

He sighed. "You can't protect yourself like I can."

"What are you going to do? Follow me around for the rest of your life?"

"No, just for the rest of yours."

"Jace!" She half yelled and stomped her foot. "Knock it off! You can't go. I will be fine."

"Clary-" he half growled and stepped so close she almost had to cross her eyes to see him. "You are so naive. You have no clue what that warlock wants."

"And how would you know what he wants?!"

"Because," he said, grabbing her hips and pulling her towards him. "I want the same thing."

And he kissed her.

She sighed, closing her eyes and pulled him closer. But they couldn't get any closer because he hauled her fully against him the second his lips attacked hers. His lips softened as soon as she touched his shoulder. His fingers flexed on her hips and he moved one hand to the back of her neck. He angled her neck back and took complete control.

She was more than happy to surrender. She shivered as he licked her lips asking permission, which she gave. When his tongue touched hers, her knees buckled and he instinctively supported her full weight.

Because all thought had flown from her mind- she was shocked when he suddenly went still and pulled away slightly. She realized the door had opened in the library and Jace had heard it.

She clutched at him, not willing to let him go no matter who had come in.

"Jace? Clary? Are you guys in here?" Isabelle shouted from the front of the library.

When she heard the curse Jace uttered under his breath, she sighed and pulled away.

"No, not yet." He murmured and brought her close to him again.

"If she finds us, she won't understand. _I_ don't even understand. You know this isn't right."

"Like hell it isn't right! When are you going to understand you are my other half?"

"When you give me some proof." She looked down at her phone. "I have to get ready, anyway." She tried to pull away again.

"You are still going?" He asked incredulously and still he wouldn't let her go.

"Of course I am! It doesn't matter what you or the warlock want. Isabelle would _kill_ me if I backed out now."

"Fine, but a few things before you go. I get to mark you before you leave, you carry my dagger at all times, and just one more kiss."

She nodded and kissed his cheek. "Can I go now?"

He leaned down, angled her neck to the side and kissed that spot he instinctively knew she would like.

He immediately stepped back from her only to get pulled back with her hands clutching his shirt.

"You don't play fair", she complained, breathlessly.

"I'm not playing at all." He turned and strolled from the library, leaving her looking after him a lot frustrated, a little bemused and just a touch of longing. Or at least that's what she told herself it was.

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After Clary had put herself back together she met Isabelle in the hallway.

"Where have you been?" She demanded.

"Studying in the library."

"I was just in there and yelled for you."

"Really? Hmm." She scrambled to find a different subject. "What do you have planned for this evening?"

Isabelle clapped her hands together. "Ooo! You are just going to love it!" She grabbed Clary's wrist and dragged her into her room.

"Let's start with the clothes." Isbelle held up a dark brown almost black floor length trench coat. "Doesn't this just scream, look at what's underneath?"

Clary nodded and hesitantly asked, "What's going to be underneath it". Isabelle grinned and pulled more clothes from the disaster on her bed. "I just love these boots! And I thought this skirt and top would be just wonderful on you." Isabelle was holding a pair of thigh high- high heeled black boots with the _shortest_ skirt -if you could even call it a skirt, more like a strip of material- Clary had ever seen, and a black halter top.

"No, I refuse. Absolutely no chance in any dimension."

"Go try it on! If you don't like it- well, you will wear it anyway".

Clary grabbed the clothes and went into the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later tugging the shirt down to cover the skin she had to expose to get the skirt to cover _other_ areas.

She didn't stop for Isabelle to see she just marched out the door and straight into Jace's room.

_I always seem to know where he is_...her thought trailed off when he looked up. His eyes flashed when he saw what she was wearing.

"Oh no. Absolutely not." He got up and closed the door behind her. "Please, I'm actually begging you, don't wear that."

She grinned, "Why do you think I am came to you?"

"Huh?" He felt like he was a few steps behind her.

"Please help me convince Isabelle I can't wear this."

"Oh," he said, taking a few steps closer. "I think you wear it just fine. It's that no one else can see you in that outfit. That's what really concerns me."

"Whatever." She said, ignoring the flutter in her stomach at his words. "Just help me convince Isabelle."

He stalked past her mumbling about girls torturing boys and she grinned. She figured Jace was the one person Isabelle would listen to.

She peeled off the skirt and found a pair of Jace's boxers to change into. He wouldn't miss _one_ more pair; she already had five.

She closed the coat and carried the skirt and boots back into Isabelle's room where she found WWIII going on.

She quietly slipped the boots and skirt onto the bed and grabbed a tight fitting pair of jeans and a more sensible pair of three inch heeled boots and snuck back out of the room just in time to hear, "What do you care?!". She shook her head and walked back into Jace's room. She knew he had a small button down black, collared shirt that he couldn't wear anymore. She found it and quietly slipped into her old room. When she was done getting dressed, she examined herself in the mirror. _Not bad_, she thought. She had paired a light-skin colored lacy shirt with the button down black one. She showed just the smallest hint of cleavage and when she tied the shirt at her waist, you couldn't quite tell if it was her skin showing or just the shirt she had tucked into Isabelle's tight and too long jeans. She had taken a pair of pointed, knee high boots from Isabelle's room. She could still wear the coat as well. _Nice_, she thought.

She tip toed down the hall where Jace was being pelted with shoes. Isabelle finally hit him with a giant stuffed dog and he fell into the hallway and Clary's feet.

"I think she might be ready to give in." He claimed from his spot at Clary's feet.

He pulled her down onto him and rolled them a few feet from the door. Clary opened her mouth to ask him what he thought he was doing when he pointed at the spot where her head had just been. There, sticking out of the wall by the 6 inch heel was Isabelle's favorite boot. She looked back up at Jace, but all she could see of him was the top his head.

"Jace?" She asked tentative. "Are you okay?"

"Clary, are you wearing _another_ of my shirts?" His facial expression was definitely leaning towards the angry side, but his eyes told another story.

"Yes, but I think this one looks a lot better on my then it does on you. Rule number one of clothing trading: whoever it looks better on- gets to keep it."

"You realize I am quickly running out of clothes? Soon I will have to go around naked."

She mumbled, "Shame" under her breath and he grinned. "I've told you before, if you want to see me without clothes, all you have to do is ask."

"I think Isabelle is done with her fit" she said at the same time the door bell rang.

He got off of her and helped her up. "I will deal with the visitor, you deal with Izzy."

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Jace opened up the doors to see Magnus Bane standing there. He was dressed in leather pants and a silk blue shirt that matched the tips of his spiked hair perfectly.

Jace scowled at the High Warlock. "Why did you set Clary up with that warlock?"

"Well, hello to you too Nephilim. It is SO good to see you. Yes, I would love to come in and find my snuggle buddy." He pushed past Jace and led the way into the elevator.

Church was in there again. The Warlock and the cat seemed to know each other..._interesting_. "Yes, Chairman Meow would love to come over later on this evening. I will give him the message."

"Bane, seriously, what possessed you to do such a thing?"

"Relax, shadowhunter. She will be fine! They are meeting at Pandemonium at 8."

Jace blinked and then slowly a smile crossed his face. It was not a nice smile.

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Meanwhile, Clary had stepped cautiously into Izzy's room. "Is it safe to come in?"

"Of course! But that was a mean trick to play, Clarissa".

Isabelle had risen from her chair when Clary had come in. Now, she looked her up and down and motioned for Clary to turn for inspection.

Clary obliged. Grinning when Isabelle half-yelled "Clary, you look great!"

"Thanks Iz. I have been dressing myself for a while now. Could you help with hair and makeup though?"

"Sure!" She patted her chair in front of her vanity.

2 hours later Clary and Isabelle strode through the Institutes hallway towards the elevator.

Clary felt great. She was mostly dressed in her own clothes and she didn't have to show a bunch of skin to feel beautiful. Isabelle had done a medium amount of work on her face, and now her eyes seem to scream "look at me". Her hair was pinned back at the sides, and curls spilled over her shoulders. She really did feel wonderful.

Isabelle, on the other hand, had gone all out with her outfit. She was in the skirt and boots and the shirt she was wearing stopped a good few inches short of the top of her skirt. She had on a cloak that somehow managed to complete the look without looking like a fairytale. Her eyes were popping with the coal she used to outline them. She looked stunning, but for once, Clary wasn't jealous.

They stopped at the elevator and waited. Jace, Magnus and Alec strode around the corridor and came up beside them.

Magnus said "You both look great! Clary, honey, you need more bling."

"You're right, Magnus." Jace said and slid in front of Clary. He pulled out a dagger, in a sheath, from his pocket and held it up for her. She nodded and slipped it into her coat pocket. He pulled from another pocket a beautiful pendant on a chain. The pendant was as big as a silver dollar and completely black. He slid the chain around her neck and whispered, "It will protect you when I am not allowed to." The chain was just the right length for the pendant to rest just above the neck line.

He pulled out his stele and pushed her sleeve up. The mark was one that no one had seen before, but Clary had no trouble reading it.

**Property Of Jace**

"What does it say?" asked Alec curiously.

"It says- 'I'm going to kill my brother'." Clary said through clenched teeth.

He pulled her aside so the other couldn't hear and said, "It says you belong to me but it won't be there forever, just tonight."

"How dare you! I don't belong to you!" She smacked him and walked into the elevator that had just arrived.

"Don't wait up," she glared and the doors closed on Jace's shocked face.


	9. Blind Date Disaster How dare you!

**Hello Everyone. I know that it has been a really long time. Earlier I had said that I had a family issue that was making my brain all fuzzy- well, My mother was diagnosed with cancer a little over a month ago. On 4/14/09 (just 4 weeks since we got the news) my mother passed away at the age of 48. Obviously, I have had a few things on my mind, but suddenly, a few days ago, I started to write again. It was like this little voice in the back of my head saying, "hello! I am still here. You remember me right? Your blonde angel? You have this wonderful scene that I know you have been thinking about for almost 3 months now. This is torture for me! Hurry it up, woman and write it down!" And of course, who can resist such a wonderful distraction? **

**Also, Let me just say how wonderful it is to hear all the wonderful comments about my story. I really appreciate the great feedback! I am trying to respond to all of you individually, but this past month I have been slacking on it. Thanks for the reviews!**

**So to recap- Jace has branded Clary with his mark and now she is on a blind date with Isabelle and two warlocks. Since, I couldn't find any in the book that I would like them to go out with, I decided that a friend of mine (Kritio) needed some closure on a horrible semi-boyfriend she once had. So Chris is icky and Mark is just a name I came up with that has nothing to do with my actual life. **

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Clary stomped out of the night club and down the street. She hated making a scene and this was her second one tonight! She thought back to the first time...

Clary and Isabelle stepped out of the Institute and headed towards the street. She still couldn't believe that she had slapped Jace; for the second time, no less. She wondered if he was ever going to react to her doing that.

Isabelle looked at Clary. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, let's just get a cab and go."

They looked down the street both ways and then at each other.

"Broadway" they said together. They headed off down the street, Clary wrapped in an angry silence and Isabelle, quiet for once.

"I just can't believe he would have the gall to brand me!" Clary burst out suddenly as if they had been talking.

Isabelle stopped walking and grabbed the other girl's arm and pushed up her sleeve. She read the 'Property of Jace'. She looked at Clary.

"Oh no, he didn't!" Isabelle was shocked.

"Oh he did. I don't mind the fact that he branded me; I just hate the fact that he doesn't trust me to take care of myself."

"**Us**. He doesn't trust either of us. I can't believe him! How does the rune work? And I thought it was only you who could make up new runes?"

"The rune works like this- let's say that there is someone who means me harm or is thinking ill thoughts towards or about me, Jace will be warned in some way. I am not sure if even he knows how he will be affected. Jace keeps trying to tell me that we are two parts of a whole, and maybe that's why he can create new runes like I can. Or maybe he was just using already known runes to create a new one. I don't know, either way, I'm pissed. He can't just go around claiming things! Especially not people."

"Well, you are his sister."

"Isabelle! How would you feel if Alec claimed you and wouldn't let you out of his sight and tried to take over your world?"

Isabelle's eyes darkened noticeably. "Oh. He would die. Slowly. Painfully."

Clary laughed. "I don't want to kill him; I want him to trust me to take care of myself."

Isabelle opened her mouth to object, but Clary stopped suddenly and whistled shrilly using her thumb and fore finger. A cab stopped with a shriek of tires in front of them. Clary grinned at Isabelle, "Thanks for teaching me that!"

They laughed and scrambled into the cab. "Pandemonium." Isabelle stated for the driver and looked over and Clary.

"Listen- I don't want to deal with this Jace thing right now. Let's just have fun and you can help me kill him later." Clary said before Isabelle had a chance to open her mouth.

"Sounds great! So, you get Chris and I get Mark."

"Why did u get to decide?"

"Cause this was my idea."

"No it wasn't." Clary said laughing. "It was Magnus's."

"Oh well. I agreed first which means I get to decide first."

"If you say so. So what's Chris like?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, what's he look like?"

"I don't know."

"Ok. What is Mark like?"

"I have no clue."

"Do you know what he looks like?"

"Nope."

"Isabelle! You have no clue what you have gotten us into! Why am I doing this again?"

"Cause I told you to. You look great by the way. Who picked out your outfit?"

"You know, I've been dressing myself for quite sometime. I can get dressed by myself and not make a fashion faux pas."

"Why are you so touchy!? I said u looked great didn't I? Anyway, I still stand by my opinion that you would have looked awesome in this outfit."

"Yes, but how do you walk in that outfit without flashing anyone?"

"I don't."

Clary looked at Isabelle in astonishment and was about to say something when she was thrown against the divider when the cabby slammed on the breaks right outside the club.

Isabelle threw the money at the driver and got out, muttering about men drivers.

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Jace watched with shock as the doors closed on the thing in his life that he needed more than anything else. The hurt he felt inside was soon replaced with determination to protect. He wasn't sure why Clary couldn't understand that they were meant to be together, but he wasn't going to allow her to just walk blindly into a dangerous situation.

He turned and started towards his room when he felt a hand on his arm.

"Jace, where are you going? What are you going to do?" Jace turned to see Alec and Magnus watching him with concern.

"I have to change; I can't go to Pandemonium like this. Besides, I need to take stock of my clothes as Clary seems to have most of them. I am curious to see how much I really have left.

"Pandemonium!? You aren't serious are you?" Asked Alec in alarm.

"I was serious when I asked if you were going to let your sister date a warlock. I don't think that I can watch Clary get hurt by some idiot with a killer finger snap."

"Oh please, Shadowhunter! I take great offence to that. No one has a finger snap like mine."

Jace rolled his eyes and started back towards his room. "I am going to find them and keep an eye on her. For her own safety." With that, he entered his room and shut the door.

Alec and Magnus looked at each other and grimaced. Well, Alec grimaced and Magnus grinned.

"Clary isn't going to like this." Alec said with a frown.

"No she isn't. This is going to be fun!" Magnus said with a grin. "We are **so** going to watch."

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Clary followed Isabelle into the club (the bouncer took one look at Isabelle and let her in without question) and over to the bar where they were supposed to meet the boys. Two young guys sat with their backs to the bar, scanning the crowd continuously. Clary nudged Isabelle and pointed to where they sat. "I think that's them." Isabelle nodded and headed over, Clary just a step behind.

The boys stood as they approached.

"Hi. I'm Mark and this is Chris." Mark said, gesturing to himself and the boy next to him.

_They are cute_, Clary thought without much feeling. They might be cute, but neither of them were Jace. No matter what she claimed to Isabelle that kiss in the library affected her ability to think about anyone besides Jace.

Mark was interesting to look at, but didn't seem to have much thought beyond Isabelle's outfit. Clary grinned to herself. _They are perfect for each other._ Chris didn't seem to have much more thoughts than Mark and Clary knew that this night was going to be a long one. She mentally sighed and shrugged.

She stepped around Isabelle and caught Chris's eye.

"Hey Chris. It's so good to meet you." Clary reached out her hand to shake his but he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into a hug.

_Ok_, she thought. _This is weird. If his hands stray, I'm __**so**__ outta here!_

He pulled back from her, but kept his hands on her waist. She gently removed them and stepped back. He didn't seem offended, in fact, his smile widened.

"Do you wanna sit down or dance?"

Clary looked around for Isabelle and saw her on the dance floor with Mark and from the way Isabelle was all over Mark Clary knew they would be a while.

"Let's sit." She suggested pointing to a spot across the room where she could see the entire club. She knew she had to keep an eye on Izzy.

They headed over and sat down; immediately Chris slid his chair closer to hers. She inwardly grimaced wondering how to let this guy down easy without being obvious. When he bumped her leg with his she thought it was an accident, but when his hand reached up her thigh she knew she was going to have a hard time not being obvious when she stuck the dagger in his hand…or leg…or whatever was nearest. She was sick of boys doing what they wanted to do and not thinking of anyone else's feelings. This guy had to be stopped.

Suddenly, she had an idea and she grinned to herself. _Oh yeah,_ _this is going to be so good._

She leaned in close to him and whispered, "Do you want to go some place a little bit more private?"

"Sure!" He replied enthusiastically.

_So easy,_ she thought.

She got up and before he could grab any part of her, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him along after her.

"I know this great little place." She said, looking over her shoulder at him.

He willingly followed her into the storage room.

She was surprised when he flung her hard against the back wall and stepped in between her legs. She opened her mouth to yell but he covered it with his own.

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Jace stepped right past the bouncer (poor guy never even saw him coming) and into the club without checking to see if Magnus or Alec were behind him. He started to scan the crowd before he even reached the point where he could see the entire club. He spotted Isabelle dancing- if you could call it that- with a boy close to the edge of the floor but Clary was no where to be found. Suddenly an intense pain flared up in his gut and he doubled over with surprise and pain. He heart beat faster. Get to Clary. Get to Clary; his heart seemed to be beating out the same rhythm over and over. Get to Clary. Jace felt a hand on his shoulder, "Are you alright?" It was Izzy. Anger for this girl filled him.

He grabbed her arm and hauled her to a quieter spot in the club, moving so fast no one saw her move. "Jace! You are hurting me; let me go! What is your problem?"

"Where is Clary?" He demanded through gritted teeth.

Isabelle looked astonished. She glanced around, "Jace, you know she can take care of herself."

"Isabelle-" He was cut off by another sharp pain, but this time he didn't double over. He knew where he had to go now. It was all to clear.

He spun on his heel and started towards that stupid storage closet where it all started.

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_I don't think so_, Clary thought and brought her knee up sharply to his groin, but he was considerably taller than her so she missed. Instead she brought down the heel of her boot straight onto his foot. He cursed and let go of her. She pushed off the wall and let her momentum carry her and him to the opposite wall. She slammed him against it, thankful she had thought to put on a strength rune before she had left the institute.

"How dare you!" she snarled at him. "How dare you think that you can push me around and touch me. Did you ever-" she whipped out her stele and knife from her coat "-even consider my feelings? No! You are pathetic! The only way you can get girls is by force. You are a pathetic excuse for a warlock."

Chris blinked down at her in shock. One minute she was ranting the next he was pinned a few feet off the ground by his wrists in manacles on hooks. _Where did those come from?_ He thought vaguely.

The door burst open revealing Jace; a very angry, very hot Jace. Clary's breath hitched when she saw him. She quickly sucked in a breath though, when she saw how angry he was.

Jace's heart skipped a few beats when he realized that she was cuddled up to the warlock. He failed to notice the manacles on the wall or the fact that she had his dagger out but wasn't using it…yet. He couldn't believe that she would do this to him. He looked at the two of them and shook his head. He wasn't needed there.

He had turned to leave when he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. The warlock had swung his legs up to enclose Clary's waist so she couldn't leave. Jace moved forward to help her when Clary's arm reached up to plunge the dagger into his leg. Immediately, the warlock screamed in pain and let her go. She stood back and straightened her clothes. She glared at Chris and whispered something only he could hear, but from the shocked look on his face, Jace knew it wasn't a sweet nothing.

Clary grabbed the dagger out of his leg and turned on her heel. She walked past Jace, not even glancing in his direction, and out the door. She was halfway to the club's exit when she felt a hand on her arm. She stopped at looked at Jace.

"I am not in the mood to talk with you Jonathan."

"Fine; I will talk then. How could you cuddle up to that…that…that thing!? I mean-"

"How dare you insinuate that I would have anything to do with him after knowing him for such a short time. You say that we are two parts of a whole, but you don't take the time to communicate with me. You brand me, but don't take the time to consider my feelings. Jace. I can't even look at you right now. Just leave me alone."

Clary glared at him and stomped out of the club.

**AN:** I know that there wasn't much Jace and Clary goodness in this chapter, but I needed this so I can get to the good parts. I really need confirmation that this story is going well…help a girl out and press that little grey button for me and tell me what you think. THANKS!


	10. Lightning and Thunder

**Hey guys! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. I can't believe how dependant I have become on them. I really appreciate it!!!**

**Also, please note that in no way was I going to let Clary be raped in the last chapter. I do not support the act of rape, nor do I feel any inclination to write about it. Chris was a person from my friend's past that I felt like needed to be beat down by a girl. Hence, why Clary got to cut down his ego some. **

Jace watched as Clary stomped away from him. He wasn't quite sure what her problem was; it's not like he enjoyed following her around and being in her business. Ok. Maybe he did. He really didn't see any reason for him to point that out to anyone soon. He hoped that this was not going to become a habit; on the other hand, he enjoyed the view she created.

Suddenly, he felt a cold wetness spill onto his neck and seep down his back. He spun on his heel and found a mundane girl standing there. She didn't look sorry at all as she held up the cup, pouring the last few drops onto the floor.

"Oops. My bad. I totally didn't see you there."

"I'm not an idiot. I know you did that on purpose." He said, glaring at her.

"You're not? Cause you sure look like one to me. You shouldn't treat her that way." And before he could respond she walked around him and towards the bar. He shook his head. _Stupid mundanes_.

"I think she might have a point though. Maybe you should just go and apologize for being such a prat."

Jace turned to see Magnus standing directly behind him with Alec and Isabelle.

"Prat? What are you? British?"

"Sarcasm is not going to solve this. Oh but I do love this song!" Magnus swayed towards the dance floor.

Jace, not waiting to see if Alec and Isabelle would give him a lecture too, walked quickly in the direction of the exit. He figured if he hurried he could still catch Clary before she made a decision on where she was going.

Jace paused just short of the sidewalk entrance to the club and took off his shirt, which he stuffed in his jeans pocket. He adjusted his jeans, feeling them scrap against his skin. He _hated_ wearing wet clothes.

"Not that I am trying to get you to take off your clothes, but why don't you just take off your jeans too." Isabelle suggested when she and Alec had caught up with Jace.

"I can't." He replied, not looking at them but starting off down the sidewalk in the direction he thought Clary might go.

"Why not? It's not like we haven't had to go home in our underwear before when he fought particularly nasty demons. Just throw those jeans away and we can go straight back to the institute."

"I can't take them off because I am not wearing any underwear. Most of mine seem to be missing."

He heard a strange noise and turned to see Isabelle and Alec slumped against each other laughing hysterically.

'Thanks" he grumbled.

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Clary was furious. She paid no attention to her surroundings as she stomped down the steps muttering. She was so mad at Chris for thinking she was that kind of girl and for thinking it was right to treat girls like that. She was upset with Jace for not understanding that she could handle herself. She was frustrated with her mother for not being there when she needed to talk. But most of all, she was angry with herself for getting into this mess in the first place.

All she wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep for a good week. She was tired of the drama and the fighting. The ironic part was she didn't mind fighting the demons; it was Jace that she was tired of fighting. Tired of fighting the way that she felt for him; the pull that was always there when she was around him. Exhausted with the thought of facing him again, she skirted around a group of people lingering at the corner and took a right. She glanced at the sky- noting duly that it looked like it was going to rain. _Wonderful. I need a good cleansing. _

Clary made it back to the Institute without anyone finding her and she found Max was asleep in the foyer when the elevator opened. She grinned down at him, took off his glasses and covered him up with one of the jackets hanging to the left.

She made her way to her room in the greenhouse and after taking a long, hot shower she fell into bed. But she was wide awake. She pulled out her sketch pad and pencils and started to draw. She drew the club, Isabelle and Mark dancing, Jace framed with light spilling from the club into the back storage room and Chris, pinned to the wall. She had to admit- she really enjoyed that.

She felt as though she was doing something for all woman kind out there. She knew her mother wouldn't be happy if she found out, but only because she was her mother. Deep down, her mother would be proud of her for what she did but upset with her for putting herself in that danger.

She put her sketch book aside and grabbed her iPod. She desperately needed to escape with her music and drawing. She pulled on headphones and climbed back into bed with her charcoal and paper. She found 'Big Girls Don't Cry' by Fergie in her playlist and pushed play. She turned it up good and loud just as the lightning and thunder started outside her room. The flashes of light and sound seemed to reverberate in her heart and she just let the music and the storm carry her away.

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Jace was worried. He couldn't find Clary anywhere and had been searching for quite sometime when Isabelle suggested that maybe she had just gone home to Luke's and they should probably just head back to the church. He ignored her until it started to rain, which is when he admitted defeat (not out loud, of course) and turned towards the Institute. He wasn't going to tell anyone, but he was just going home to get the motorcycle to look some more.

When they found Max curled up under one of Jace's jackets they knew she had been there. Jace wasn't worried anymore, but he still didn't want to be in doors. He said his goodnights and went into his bedroom and straight to the window which he promptly crawled out of.

He crawled onto the roof and settled himself by one of the lowest pillars. He stared out at the city and contemplated his life. He knew he loved Clary. He knew that he cared about her more than the Clave thought he should. _Screw the Clave, _he thought. His heart told him that she was his and that's all that mattered. She was special to him and he knew he overstepped his bounds by trying to protect her. They had a connection. He knew that somehow, she was a part of him. It was very simple: she was his other half. He grimaced. He sounded like a mushy mundane song.

He wasn't sure why she couldn't understand that he had to protect her. He had to make sure that nothing happened to her. He thought back to their kiss earlier today in the library. He shouldn't have done that, he knew, but he didn't regret it. In fact, he wished he had made it a little longer so that she wouldn't have gone on her date. How could she do that to him!? How could she not know that it was tearing him up inside to see her dressed up for someone else? See her with someone else. He knew that the warlock would wish he was dead by the time Jace and/or Magnus got done with him. No one touched _his_ Clary and got away with it. He did admit to himself, she handled him perfectly.

With a particularly close fork of lightning flashed, there was a spark of reflection from his left. He frowned and got up to look. When he came around the corner of another column he stopped in shock. Beneath the next level of rooftop was a room. Not just any room, but a glass room. It looked to be a fairly good sized bedroom with a few rooms off to each side. What had shocked him though, was the fact that his Clary was curled up on the bed; he would know that red hair anywhere.

He sat down where he was and just stared. How long had she been there? She was just a few hundred feet away from him this whole time! Why didn't she tell him that she had been staying there? He stood up, angry with her for keeping things from him. He was going to find out everything.

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Clary stopped her iPod when a particularly sad song came on. She didn't want to think about how she wanted to be curled up in Jace's arms. Tears sprang to her eyes when she thought about how much it hurt to ignore the feelings she had for him. She set everything on her desk and peeled back the covers on her bed. She crawled in, curled in a ball, and let herself cry for everything that she couldn't have.

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Jace saw her curl up and knew that she upset about something because she normally slept stretched out. He could count on one hand the times that he had watched her sleep, but they were burned in his memory forever. Nothing brought him more joy than to hear her mumble his name in her sleep. But now, looking down on her, he knew that she needed him.

He made his way down to the level of roof that her room was on and slid the window open to crawl inside. He saw everything perfectly and made his way over to the side of her bed.

"Clary? Clary, are you alright? What's wrong?" he asked as gently as he could, laying a hand on her shoulder.

Clary rolled to her other side and moved further away from him on the bed. He frowned at her, not that she could see it.

"Clary?" he tried once more to get her attention.

"Go away" she mumbled, wiping her eyes surreptitiously.

"Not until you tell me why you are upset." He sat down on the bed, careful not to jostle her.

"We can't be together!" she half-wailed.

Jace gaped at her. Was she really that upset about it?

"Why do you care? I thought you didn't want to look at me." Jace said before he could think better about it.

Clary sat up and pushed him roughly down on the bed. Jace, caught completely off guard, slid down onto the bed with Clary on top of him. She grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him with surprising gentleness. He was so shocked that he didn't think about moving until she had already sat back up.

"Does that answer your question?" she asked with a small sniffle.

He moved up the bed to sit next to her against the head board. He leaned in close and wrapped his arms around her. And, as hard as she tried not to, she burst into tears.

"I just miss my mom so much, and every time I think about her, I think about how upset she would be if she could see her only two children with each other."

"But Clary, haven't you been listening to me? I can't be your brother."

"Jace!" Clary said exasperated and she moved away from him, "Of course you are. Who else would you be?"

"Well, I may not know where I come from, but I can guarantee that I am not your brother. Don't you ever wonder why we know where each other is all the time- if we are close enough together? And why we feel this strongly?"

"Well, if you are so smart, then you tell me your theories."

"Its not a theory. I just haven't gotten the proof you wanted yet." He said smartly back.

"Jace, that doesn't make any sense!"

"I think Valentine wanted to create the perfect paraboti. A set of warriors that could move in tandem with each other perfectly. Two people that would know each other inside and out so well that they would be able to predict what the other would do before they had even thought of doing it. Think about it Clary, you know that he thought that the Clave needed to change, maybe this was the way he could change it. So he took two babies and split their genes to compliment each other and did other experiments on them. You know what the Queen of the Seely Court said. Don't you wonder what other talents he gave us?"

Clary sat looking at Jace as if he had gone off the deep end. _This is it. He has finally had one too many hits to head by a demon. He has completely lost it. _

"Jace", she said calmly, "how do you know that's what the Queen meant?"

Jace lifted her chin and leaned in, "Because I know the one thing in the world you want that you think you can't have. I know how you feel about me because not only can I see it in your eyes, I feel it every time I look at you. You walk into the room and all of the sudden its like no one else exists. You are everything to me and I know what you want..," he breathed.

She tried to pull away from him. "Jace don't."

"Don't what? Don't give your body what it's screaming for? You know your body calls to me. I just want to answer it…please? Just once?"

She looked into his beautiful eyes and saw something that she wasn't surprised to see. She knew what that look meant. She also knew that she was giving him the same look. She sighed with defeat and he grinned.

He reached for her again and took her in his arms. He knew that she may change her mind tomorrow morning, but tonight he was going to treasure whatever she would give him.

"Thanks" he whispered into her lips and then he kissed her. All rational thought flew from her mind the moment she gave into him. She sighed and went willingly when he pulled her into his lap. He cradled her in his arms and kissed the side of her neck below her ear. She groaned and arched into him. He grinned against her neck and bit down gently in the same spot. She gasped and grabbed a hold of his shoulders, trying to steady herself.

"Jace, wait. I'm sorry. I just can't until we have some proof. I'm so sorry. Will you stay with me tonight though? I don't want to be alone."

Jace groaned softly and nodded. They changed positions- lying on the bed side by side spooning as close as they could get.

"Jace?" Clary murmured.

"Hmm?" He answered into her neck, trying to forget the sensations she caused in him.

"I don't mind you branding me, but don't you _ever_ do that again. You show that you don't trust me and there is no relationship without trust first."

Jace leaned on his elbows above her. "Clary, you have to understand. You are a part of me, what do you think would happen to me if something happened to you? You are my other half. Clary, I'm sorry that I went practically behind your back to protect you. I just couldn't stand the thought of you getting hurt when I could do something to prevent it."

Clary looked up and him and smirked. "What was more upsetting to you? The fact that I was out on a date with a warlock or that I was out on a date with someone that wasn't you?"

Jace growled low in his throat and kissed her hard. She entwined her arms around his neck and wrapped a leg around his. His tongue slipped in to meet and duel with hers. He groaned for the third time that night and gently slid away from her. He sat on the edge of the bed and tried to control his breathing. She sat up with him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Clary. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. This being with you and not being able to _be with you_." He stopped and turned to face her. "I need you. I haven't ever needed anyone in my life, but I need you."

She looked into his eyes and saw how much this was physically hurting him. She cupped his face with her hands. "Listen to me. We will find out the truth, I promise. We will figure this out and then we will make a decision. We will. I promise." She gently kissed him and brought him back to lay down with her again. She slid into his arms, finally feeling like she was home again.

He watched the lightning and rain, and he listened to the rain fall on roof while he held her. He wondered if even the angels were this content in heaven.

He swore to himself that he would never let her go.


	11. Greenhouse Interlude

**Hey everyone. Thanks so much for all of the reviews. This is a short chapter. This chapter refused to leave me alone until I wrote it. I have a vague inclination where I am going to go with the next 2 or 3 chapters…hopefully you all enjoy it. **

**I do not own this series nor do I have anything to do with Jane Austen or Pride and Prejudice (Unfortunately).**

Clary woke up feeling angry with the entire world. How dare her subconscious use her dreams and desires against her? The dream she just experienced had been absolutely wonderful. She had dreamt that Jace had found her in her greenhouse room and confessed how much he really felt for her. Oh, how she wished it were true! The dream felt so real- having his arms around her with her head on his shoulder. She loved the feel of his chest under her exploring hands. She remembered with clarity the look on his face when he revealed that he needed only her.

She huffed angrily and started to get out of bed when she realized that there was an arm wrapped around her waist. She looked at the hand curled around her side and started violently. It was Jace's hand! She studied it with a critical eye; she had never realized what an effect a hand had until she saw the scene of the 2006 _Pride and Prejudice_ movie. She now knew how Elizabeth must have felt to have Darcy's hand touch hers.

She was jostled out of her thoughts by said hand tightening gently around to bring her closer into a hard surface. His voice spoke gently in her ear, "Do you always move so much when you first wake up? Can I have just a few more minutes? Please?" He whispered into her neck and she shivered.

"Alright." She turned her body and snuggled more firmly against him.

So they lay there and listened to the rain fall on her roof, knowing that soon the world would intrude.

Clary must've fallen asleep again, because the next thing she knew a phone was ringing and she felt Jace move away from her.

"What do you want?" Jace asked groggily into the phone.

"Jace! Jace! Where are you? You never came back last night. Did you think we wouldn't notice you leaving through your WINDOW?" Clary could hear Isabelle on the other end of the phone. She rolled her eyes and started to get out of bed but was pulled back almost immediately by Jace.

"Isabelle, I am fine but busy." He cut in on her rant and hung up on her outraged voice.

"Where are you going?" Jace half-whined, trying to get his arms around her again.

She moved out of his reach and giggled. "Come on! Aren't we training today?"

He moved faster than she could follow and had her in his arms before she could take a breath. He moved them back to the bed and leaned into her, saying "We could train in here today."

Clary caught her breath and looked up at him. _How am I supposed to resist him? _

Jace seemed to read the indecision in her eyes and had them standing again in a second.

He grinned at her. "No training today. Answers today. I think we should start with Luke."

"I need a shower. We could conserve water and share?" he asked half hoping, half teasing.

She grinned at him. "What would you do if I said yes?"

Jace felt as if his heart stopped. "I…well…I don't want you to have any regrets when we do finally take that step." He took her in his arms and leaned down to put his head into her neck, breathing in her scent. "I want your full attention without guilt when I can finally do what I want to do with you." He felt her sharp intake of breath and grinned. It was nice to know he wasn't the only one affected. He gently let her go and pushed her into the bathroom.

"I will meet you downstairs in 20 minutes." With that, he shut the door gently and walked away, trying to ignore certain body parts that were screaming at him to go back.

**I'm sorry this was so short I just had this chapter in my head. Besides, I like Jace and Clary fluff. =D**


	12. Some Answers New Questions

**Hey guys. I just want to do a shout out to all of those who have reviewed! You guys are amazing! This chapter is dedicated to those who have said this story is one of their favorites! I love each one of you! **

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Jace stepped out of his bathroom in just a towel and stopped in his tracks when he saw Alec sitting on his bed.

"Alec? What's up?"

Alec looked up from his cell phone. He had a very troubled look on his face.

"Mom says she wants all of us to meet her in Alicante. The talks aren't going well. They need us to explain our part."

Jace was shocked, but he recovered quickly. "When?"

"In six days; Magnus will create the portal we will need."

"Listen, Clary and I are trying to figure out a few things which means we won't be around for the next few days. Keep your cell on. I will call you."

Jace turned to get dressed but Alec stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"What do you mean? What's going on? You used to tell me everything. And now I feel like we don't talk at all."

"Alec, it isn't like that. I just need to figure some stuff out."

"You've changed, Jace."

"Love will do that to you." Jace turned and, after he grabbed his clothes, closed the bathroom door on Alec's stunned face.

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Jace hurried down the hall to meet Clary, but stopped when he heard shouting from the library. He sighed and headed in that direction. Isabelle was yelling at someone angrily.

_Wow_, Jace thought. _I feel bad for the person she is yelling at_. He did not like being on the receiving end of her anger. Suddenly another voice joined the yelling, "ISABELL! Stop yelling!" Clary yelled trying to get the other girls attention.

"How can you be so calm? Jace is sneaking out to do the Angel only knows what and that doesn't bother you!?" Isabelle asked in a slightly quieter tone.

"Is, Jace wasn't sneaking out. He was with me." Clary said quietly.

For once, Isabelle Lightwood seemed shocked. She stepped closer to Clary and asked in a very low and dangerous voice, "What do you mean he was with you?"

Clary glanced around hoping that someone would come to her aid and saw Jace leaning against the door. She smiled at him faintly then turned her attention back to Isabelle.

"I mean what I said. Jace was with me." She said as calmly as she could.

"Oh I do not believe this! I was so worried and he was with you. Ugh! When I get my hands on that boy, I am going to-"

"Ladies, ladies. You don't have to fight over me. There is enough to go around." Jace had come up to their side and put an arm around Isabelle's shoulder and unable to help himself, he put his other arm around Clary's waist.

Isabelle glared at him fiercely. "Jace! You hung up on me this morning because you were with her! I think you had better explain yourself."

Jace gently squeezed Clary's waist then pushed her towards the door with a wink. She nodded and left, closing the door behind her.

Jace watched her leave, thinking she knew him very well to understand he wasn't pushing her out but that he needed some time with Isabelle to explain gently.

"Is, I want to know- I want proof that Clary and I are related. I just can't believe we are, not with the way I feel about her. I'm sorry I've been keeping you guys out of the loop, this is just something Clary and I have to do."

Isabelle studied Jace's face for a long moment and then nodded. "Alright, does that mean you aren't going to Idris with us? I don't think we get a choice in it."

Jace laughed, "And miss the chance to see home again? I don't think so."

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Clary waited outside the library dressed in jeans, a sweater and her sneakers. The weather had decided to turn cool these past few weeks and she didn't like the cold.

Clary also didn't like waiting. She had no patience for people but found that she could easily draw and redraw the same picture to get it right. She especially loved to draw Jace with his tawny eyes and hard angles. She could spend hours just watching him, she could also spend hours-

Her thoughts were cut off when her phone rang.

"Hello Simon." She answered. She and Simon had continued to call each other daily since she had moved into the greenhouse, but she hadn't seen him since. He was hanging with Mia a lot and she was training now. But she was glad that he called her so often; it made the pain of not seeing him less.

"Hey Clary. What's going on?" Simon's clear and calm voice came through from the other line.

"Nothing much. You know how this place is. Train now. Eat now. Sleep now. Rinse. Lather. Repeat." She was rewarded with his laugh. "How's Mia?" She asked once his laughter had stopped.

"She's great!" He replied enthusiastically. She was so glad that they were getting along. It was nice that he had someone like Mia in his life. She was jealous that his relationship wasn't seen as gross or immoral. Although with it being between a vampire and a werewolf she was sure someone thought of it that way. At first it was weird seeing them together, but now, it was just normal. She thought that they just might reshape the Downworlders view of each other after all.

Simon was still talking about Mia and what they had done on their last date when Jace stepped out of the Library searching for her. She waved to him from down the hall- she had a silly habit of pacing when she was on the phone.

He came up next to her and looked questioningly at the phone. She mouthed, "Simon" to him.

He grinned widely and snatched the phone from her quickly.

"Bloodsucker! How are you and the flea bag doing?" Jace asked, smiling at the look of indignation on Clary's face.

Jace only vaguely heard Simon's reply as he was caught up in the look on Clary's face. She was ticked...and looked ready to pounce. Jace had just enough time to widen his stance before she leapt on to him. Even though he was slightly ready for it, he was still knocked to the ground be her force, with her on top of him. The phone dropped from his hand (he wasn't really focused on it anyway) and she snatched it up- quick as lightning.

"Simon, I'm going to have to call you back." She growled into the phone and snapped it shut.

"Do I take your phone away from you when you are talking? No! Do I interrupt your phone calls? No! So why do you do it to me!?" Clary was furious. She sat on top of his stomach, only half-conscience of the position they were in.

Jace grinned and slid his hands up her jean-clad thighs to her waist. "Because I get this reaction out of you."

She growled again. "Jace!"

Jace looked up at her and trembled. Not out of fear, but because of something else entirely.

"By the Angel," he breathed. "You are gorgeous when you are angry."

He palmed the back of her head and pulled her down to him and in one very smooth move flipped them over. He kissed her- quick and hard and then jumped to his feet.

"Are you ready?" He asked looking down at her.

"Wha- what was that?" She sputtered looking at him.

"Just a reminder of why we need to find information about our dear old Dad."

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Sitting in Luke's kitchen, Clary was suddenly worried how he was going to react to their request. She looked over at Jace, but he was slumped back in his chair with an arm thrown casually over the back corner of it. He looked cocky and so sure of himself. She shook her head and turned to Luke.

"I know this is going to sound weird, but is there anything from my mom's life with Valentine? Any journals or books of his that she took?" Clary asked Luke, sounding tentative.

Luke looked astonished. "Why do you want to know?"

Clary wasn't sure how to answer so she looked at Jace.

Jace leaned forward, sitting on the edge of his chair. "I am going to be honest. I don't think Clary and I are siblings. I want proof that we are or aren't."

Luke looked even more shocked, but seemed to recover himself quickly. He nodded, more to himself than to either of them and stood.

"I wondered when you would ask. I don't think Jace is your brother either. There is no resemblance to either Valentine or Jocelyn. There are just so many things that don't add up. I can give you the boxes she wanted me to keep for her, but I'm not really sure what's in them."

He gestured for them to follow and led them into his bedroom. He pulled out six boxes from his closet and they sat down to start looking through them.

Clary looked at the boxes and knew this was going to be a long day. She sighed and pulled a box to her.

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Two boxes later, Clary's back was killing her from bending over so much and she was pretty sure her butt would never be the same from sitting on the floor. They had found nothing so far, and Luke had long since left to go and sit with her Mom at the hospital. She groaned and tried to stand up, but her legs had fallen asleep.

Jace laughed at her, but helped her up anyway. "Looks like you need a rune for energy or flexibility."

"I need a rune for getting the blood flow back into my legs."

Jace grinned at her mischievously, "Clary, are you asking me to get your blood going? Because I can think of several _interesting_ ways to help you with that."

His smile was contagious and she leaned towards him with one of her own, "Oh, do you think you could help me with that?" She asked, making her voice breathy.

His grin widened. "Of course. You know I would do anything for you." He moved closer to her and she backed away.

"I'm not ready. I'm really sorry. I need proof before I do anything."

Jace adopted a hurt look, "I was only going to mark you. Like I said before, you need energy and flexibility."

Clary couldn't help the words that tumbled from her mouth a few seconds later, "That's not what you said last night."

He laughed and she joined in. This was nice; not having to worry about demons or parents. But the look in his eyes brought her back to reality. _Oh boy,_ she thought. She always dreamed of him looking at her like that, but now was not the time. They needed answers.

"Fine," she said. "Mark me."

Jace gently turned her around so her back was to him and pulled out his stele. "I'm going mark your shoulder, alright?"

She nodded and took off the sweater and pulled down the strap of her shirt. She flinched slightly when Jace put a hand on her neck, not because it hurt but because of the feelings the gesture brought to the surface. She wasn't sure how long she could handle this. Her Mom had told her that she should follow her heart. Well, her heart wanted her to be in Jace's arms, wrapped in a protective circle of love and warmth. Her heart knew that her body _needed _to be in his arms. She was getting so tired of fighting these overwhelming feelings and fought the urge to just give in.

She was brought out of these thoughts when Jace appeared in front of her, his voice calling her name in a sing-song tone. "Claaarrry, Claaarrry. Where did you go, my little Shadowhunter?"

She shook her head slightly at his tone. Honestly. "I'm right here."

"You looked so lost. What were you thinking about?" Jace asked while rolling up his left sleeve.

"You." She said simply and took out her own stele to mark him.

Jace stood stunned but let her take his arm anyway. She drew the energy mark (he already had a permanent flexibility mark on him) and gently blew on the mark to cool it. She knew he could handle the mark, but it was nice to be able to take care of him. She looked up from his arm to see him looking at her. He smiled down at her and she blushed to be caught; normally he was the one taking care of everyone else.

"Are you ready to keep looking?" She asked as casually as she could, while she tried to step back from him, but found a box in her way. His hands shot out to catch her but she already regained her balance. He studied her for a moment and before he could ask the question, she answered it.

"Isabelle also worked with me on my balance." She shrugged at his incredulous look and got back down on the floor to continue looking for any information that could help them.

An hour later, she jumped when Jace yelled. "Yes! I found something. Check this out."

**Start the evil music please!**

**I hope you guys like it. Review please!**

**Just kidding! I would not leave you guys hanging like that. (giggle)**

Jace handed Clary a small book that looked to be a journal of sorts. When she flipped to the first page she found a beautiful rune. She could tell that it was very old and very powerful. It was shaped vaguely like a heart, with the end open. But what was really odd was that the longer Clary looked at it the more she thought she was seeing double. Then she realized that the rune was one of a pair. The other rune was on the other side of the page. That rune had the top of the heart open and the bottom closed. She thought they would look beautiful drawn together. The hearts would interlock when drawn together, with slight designs on each of the heart- almost like vines. There wasn't really a translation for it; it was something that meant love, friendship, passion, unity, and many more things. She sat there studying it for quite sometime. Finally, she looked at Jace questioningly. "Have you ever seen it before?"

"Yea, I have."

"Really!?" Clary asked excitedly. "Where?"

"On me."

**Hehehehe now I am leaving it there. Let me know what you guys think!**


	13. A Conversation With An Angel

**Hey Guys! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. Its so weird! All of the sudden I started writing like crazy again. I feel like I have finally started to move on. I really really hope that the story is making sense. I feel as if I am just been rambling for the past few chapters and now I know where I am going with this story. I hope you are all enjoying this as much as I am.**

**I have a few disclaimers before we start this amazing (if I do say so myself) chapter. First of all, I am not, nor have I ever, claimed to understand where we are before we exist in this world. This is not my theory on it and it is called Fiction for a reason. There is one more at the end because I can't tell you now or you would know what happens!**

**Without further ado-**

_Finally, she looked at Jace questioningly. "Have you ever seen it before?" _

"_Yea, I have." _

"_Really!?" Clary asked excitedly. "Where?" _

"_On me." _

Clary looked dumbfounded. "No way!" she finally burst out. "Show me."

He grinned at her. "I told you that all you had to do was ask if you wanted to see me naked." He took off his shirt and the thin wife beater he had underneath it. She held her breath as he came closer. He took her right hand in his left and drew it towards his chest.

"Can you feel it?" he used her own hand to guide it along a very faint rune. It was the first one that she saw in the book; the one with the open end of the heart. She nodded, still unable to speak with him so near her and without a shirt. It was a wonder she could still nod at this point. But when they had gotten to the bottom of the heart, where it was open, Clary felt a hard stinging, like someone was drawing a rune on her skin in the same place. Clary gasped and sunk to the floor, where she tried to catch her breath.

"Jace." She gasped, "help me." She clutched at her shirt, trying to get it off. Jace aided the process significantly by sliding a knife up the center and cutting it off completely.

The room was spinning and she closed her eyes, in the hope that it would stop. When she opened her eyes a few moments later, she found herself on the bench in Central Park. She sighed wearily.

"Hi Mom," Clary said, not looking at the person next to her.

"Clarissa. We need to talk."

Clary jumped to her feet and spun around, there, standing beside the bench, was an angel. He smiled at Clary and said, "It is alright, my child, blood of my blood, you do not have to be afraid. I have waited for this day for many years."

Clary stood in front of the angel and stared. He was tall, well over six feet with long dark hair that flowed down in between his wings. His wings were amazing. She wasn't sure, but she thought the wing span must be incredible.

"Clary!" He said sternly.

She jumped and brought her focus back to his face.

"I am sorry, my child, but our time here is limited. There are many things I need to tell you before Jace brings you back into consciousness."

"Jace? And what do you mean 'my child'?" Clary asked, feeling very disoriented.

"Yes, your other half is trying his best to revive you. Being a pest, really, but that is what we expect of him, now isn't?" He paused to gently smile down at her. "You are my child because the blood of angels flows through your veins. When you have realized your full potential, you and your other half will be more like siblings to me."

Clary just stood there staring. She was so confused and she had no idea where to start with her questions.

"My child, this is confusing for you, I realize, but our blood will help you understand, with time. There is a great battle coming. One who's outcome with greatly depend on the strength of all of those involved. We have known this from the beginning, and therefore we made the decision to help your kind. We poured our blood into a being that was then severed in two. The halves were then molded into the likeness of their Creator and sent down to earth. When the time was right, they would find each other and would recognize, in each other that which was placed there before they were created. You are one of those halves. Jace is the other."

Clary was still staring, but her mouth was open now. "You are saying that Jace and I are really two halves of a whole…a whole…a whole what?"

"You are two halves of a whole. That is all that matters. You can become anything that you wish. We have given you our blood to give you strength when you most need it. And now, our time is done. Your other half is quite distressed. Go to him and comfort him. We will speak again."

The angel started to fade- or was that her eyesight- and she called out to him. "Wait! I don't even know your name."

"Don't you? I am a part of you, Clarissa Morgenstern, just look within."

The park dissolved and the next thing she knew she was lying on Luke's bed in her bra and jeans and Jace was leaning over her with his stele in one hand and his phone in the other.

"Hey" he said softly. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. What happened?" She tried to sit up, but he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Clary, I think we have a serious issue. Look down."

Clary did as he suggested and looked down to see her chest (or lack there of). She started to tell him that she didn't see what the big deal was about when she caught sight of the left side, slightly above her breast. It was the rune; the other part of Jace's rune. She gasped.

"This is soo not good. What do we do now?" She tried her best not to panic. She had done some crazy stuff with runes, she could handle this…she hoped.

"I've already called Magnus and Luke. They are on their way over along with Simon, Alec, Isabelle and Max. Magnus thinks he knows what is going on, but he won't tell anyone until they are all here. They are about fifteen minutes away."

"Wow, you've done a lot. How long have I been out?"

"About ten minutes," he said, almost sheepishly. "I moved quickly. I was so worried about you."

She grinned up at him. "You were worried about me?" She reached for him without thought and pulled him closer to her. He wrapped his arm around her and lifted her into his lap. She started to lean her head against his chest, but stopped when something black caught her eye. She gasped.

Jace's rune was no longer faint, but black and bold as if it had just been drawn. She met his gaze.

"It turned that way once you finished tracing it." He explained. She just nodded and laid her head back down and started talking. She told him all about the angel and the blood that they had and the angels' plan for the upcoming battle. When she was done, he didn't ask her any questions, just held her tighter to him.

That's how they were found nearly ten minutes later.

"What's going on here?" Asked Luke and Simon together.

Clary lifted her head from Jace's neck and waved meekly.

"I found two new runes- or is that a pair of new runes? Either way, I found new runes." Clary tried to explain.

"So you took off your shirt and crawled into bed with your brother?" Asked Alec.

Before anyone could say a word, Magnus stepped forward. "He's not her brother. Not if that is what I think it is." He pointed to their chests. "We need to see those and we're going to need seats. This might take a while."

Everyone crowded around them to see the new runes; they really were beautiful runes. Clary met his eyes over the heads of everyone bent over them and she smiled at him. She knew he was eating up all this attention, especially the kind of attention he got when he took of his shirt. He winked at her and she laughed. When they were done, Jace pulled Clary away from everyone and bent down to whisper in her ear, "How are you doing, with all of this I mean?"

She grinned faintly at him, "You mean because you aren't my brother? Or because everyone just got a really good look at me without a shirt?"

He laughed and pulled her into a hug.

Isabelle called from the other side of the room, "If you two could spare a moment, we would like to know how this all happened."

When they were all seated again (Jace gave Clary his shirt to wear and he put his wife beater back on), Jace held up the book he found, flipping open to the first page. He explained that he had always had this faint rune, but that he didn't think it was anything from the normal until Clary had touched it. He explained what had happened when she touched it and then he said, "And you all know the rest. She fainted and I called you when I couldn't revive her."

Magnus seemed to know that something else happened, but, thankfully, didn't press the issue. Instead, he took the book from Jace and flipped through it.

"So what's going on?" Max asked, from his spot in the corner.

"I think we would all like to know that." Muttered Simon from beside Clary. She grinned at him.

Magnus spoke, "This is a very old book, and I thought my copy was the only copy in existence. The language is not one that is spoken anymore, and only a few people are able to read it. Fortunately for you people, I am one of those people." Jace scoffed, but stayed quiet when Clary put a hand on his arm. Magnus ignored them both.

"This book does not give much information on the hows and whys of this rune. And it is only one rune, just with two parts. There is a myth about an end-the-world battle and how everyone, Downworlders and Shadowhunters alike, are going to need help to fight the demons. It says that a pair of fighters will emerge, and they will have great strength that comes from the 'interlocking heart'. I think we have just found our pair."

The room was silent for a long moment. Then everyone started talking at once, except for Clary and Jace.

Luke had turned to Magnus and said, "They are too young to fight in a battle." Simon turned to Clary and said, "This would make a great video game!" Max asked Jace if he could help fight demons. To which Alec said that he absolutely could not and Isabelle asked the room at large, "But how do we know that they aren't brother and sister?"

Magnus just shook his head at Luke and turned to answer Isabelle's question, "This book is very clear on just one point: In no way could the rune work on siblings. This was predestined, Isabelle."

"Okay, how did Jace and Clary get the rune in the first place?" Alec asked, looking bewildered.

Magnus just shook his head. "I have no idea."

Clary glanced at Jace, and seeing him give a small nod, she spoke up. "I think I can answer that."

Seeing their shocked looks, she opened her mouth but suddenly closed it. She had the feeling Jace wanted to say something. She turned and looked at him, expectantly.

Jace beamed at her, "What she is going to explain goes no farther than this room. You guys can talk to us about it and each other, but no one else. I want an oath please." They each gave the equivalent to the Shadowhunter oath and then he gestured for Clary to continue.

She explained her vision and how the angel said that they were two parts of a whole. When she was done she looked around the room and saw the same look on each of their faces: awe and shock.

Alec was the first to talk, "Ok. They have angel blood in them- I get that. But why do they need those runes?"

Magnus, once again, answered before anyone else could, "Because Jace has always had that rune he has always had access to the angel blood. Clary only got her rune when she saw the runes in this book and when her blood recognized the rune, it recognized the same thing in Jace. They can reach their full Shadowhunter potential now."

Jace laughed, "I doubt I have far to go; I am the best already."

Magnus and Simon rolled their eyes and, surprisingly, it was Max who spoke next. "Yes, but now you have a super partner to help you. Lucky!"

Jace, suddenly serious, looked over at Clary and then back at Max, "Yes, I am very lucky."

"But wait! Clary does all those things with runes already. Are you telling us that she is just naturally that amazing with runes?" Isabelle piped up from her spot beside Luke.

Luke answered, "I truly believe that Clary's talent for art is natural, so I can't see why her way with runes wouldn't be as well."

Magnus nodded thoughtfully, "Yes that does make sense."

"Okay!" Jace said, standing up and Clary stood as well. "If we are done with the questions, Clary and I would like some time to figure out what this means for us. Besides, we have to get ready to go to Idris."

Clary spun around to look at Jace; she put her hands on her hips when she faced him. "Excuse me? Idris? What? No one told me we were going to Idris."

Simon laughed softly and pulled Isabelle up with him. "Let's go" he said quietly, "We do not want to be here for this."

Luke nodded to Magnus and swept out of the house without a backwards glance. Magnus grinned evily at Jace and took Alec with him. Max was left looking at the couple and started to say something but was cut off by Simon who had, bravely in his opinion, come back into the house for the little boy.

Just as he shut the front door he heard Jace say, "Now Clary, don't be upset. I would've told you eventually."

Simon just shook his head. Jace may be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but he was about to have his ass handed to him by a _very_ angry red head.

**So there it is. I hope my radical thoughts were not too confusing for everyone. The rune is not explained fully- Clary and Jace will have another conversation about it that will explain what affects it will have on our favorite couple. **

**Also, here is that other disclaimer I promised- I have humanized the angel because I have never met one, and I would like to think of them this way. If someone has met an angel of the heavenly kind, please let me know if I got this guy's character right.**


	14. Packing for Idris Part 1

**I could give you a thousand excuses why this is soooo late in coming, but that would just take longer to get to the story. Also, I have become so spoiled by reviews…please don't take them away from me. In light of that- this chapter is dedicated to my first reviewer of ch. 13- Justareader100 thank you for your kind words and for reviewing! **

**WARNING: NOT BETA'D. I DIDN'T WANT TO MAKE YA'LL WAIT ANY LONGER. THIS CHAPTER MAY CHANGE IN THE FUTURE. **

Jace sat on Clary's bed watching her pack for Idris. They were leaving the day after tomorrow and she was already packing. Jace started to shake his head, but then he caught sight of what she just packed and sat up.

"Just how much of my clothes do you have?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

She giggled and shrugged. "I lost count a while ago".

He grinned at her and got off the bed, heading towards her.

"And how shall I punish you for stealing my clothes?" He stepped around her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She giggled again and lifted her head to kiss him. He leaned down and let his lips gently brush hers. This was the best part of the rune; he was allowed to touch her now.

When they finally separated he went back to the bed to stare at her while she packed. He thought all that had happened since the day they found the book and runes.

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Three days ago:

Jace looked at Clary glaring at him with her hands on her hips. She was really mad. And really beautiful. He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that they weren't related and that they were actually made and designed specially for each other. He loved the thought of her being his and wondered if it was too soon to talk about marriage. Probably, considering the glare she was giving him right now. Why was she so upset? Couldn't she see how absolutely ecstatic he was?

"So is this the way it's going to be from now on? I'm just expected to follow you around where ever you go?" She demanded, poking him with her finger to emphasize her words.

He smiled to himself; she was stunning when she was angry. All that fire and passion and she belonged to him! But now was not the time to fantasize about her.

"I just forgot to tell you. Alec told me this morning that his mother told him she wants us all to come to Idris in a few days to back her and Robert in the War Talks. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you."

She studied his face looking for any hint he was lying and when she was satisfied he wasn't, she stepped back from him and flopped onto the couch.

"So what now?" she asked not meeting his gaze.

He chuckled and sat down next to her. "I want to read more of that book and find out how this changes us. And since we aren't related, I think we should try making out more often."

She grinned at him and leaned forward towards him and just as their lips met, she pulled back with the rune book in her hand. "Lets figure out how we are going to change first, then make out."

He groaned and reached for her, saying "I think you have your priorities backwards."

She danced out of his reach, laughing when he chased her around the couch.

"Come on, Jace. The sooner we figure out how this is going to affect us, the sooner we can move on to more _interesting_ things." She winked at him and then burst into laughter when he vaulted over the back of the couch and had the book open in his lap before she could say anything else.

"Clary! Get a move on! We have reading to do!" Jace said, already scanning through the book.

She looked at him incredulously.

"There is no way I can read ancient Greek." She said, looked at the book over his shoulder.

"I can though. Come here." He patted the cushion right next to him. "I will read it to you."

She looked at him for a minute and then smiled. "This had better be better than the last bed time story you told me." She curled up next to him, laying her head on his shoulder. "Read away, shadow hunter."

An hour later, Jace looked down at Clary and had to take a double take. She was sleeping, curled against him with her leg entwined with his and her hand resting lightly on his chest, as if she needed the reassurance of his heartbeat to know he was still there. He smiled at the picture she made and continued to read.

"_The two with the blood will bond in such a way that only they will fully understand. There will come a time when they will need to draw strength from each other and one will need to remain safe while the other will go out and fight. They will lend each other balance, grace and strength. They will share feelings and thoughts and they will be of one mind. Their many abilities will only be accessed when their blood recognizes that which resides in them both."_

Jace re-read that passage again and again until he thought he had it memorized and then he looked at Clary. He could almost see the angel's blood flowing through her veins; she always seemed to glow. She was so peaceful looking that he couldn't help but close the book and after readjusting both of their positions so they were lying spooned together on the couch, curling his body around hers and falling into a deep sleep.

Clary was sitting on that park bench with her mom, laughing with her head thrown back. She's beautiful, Jace thought, stopping a few yards away from them so he could watch them talk and laugh. Clary looked so relaxed; he didn't want to ruin it with his presence.

Suddenly, Jocelyn looked over at him and smiled. "Come here, bonded shadowhunter."

Clary whirled in her seat and then seeing him, laughed.

"Hey Jace. So nice of you to join us, finally. We thought you would never put down that book!" She said sternly but her eyes danced with mirth.

Jocelyn stood up to meet him as he came around the corner. She swept him into a hug and whispered a few words in his ear. She pulled back and looked at him with a stern expression and he nodded at her. She grinned suddenly and turned to sit back down. Clary looked back and forth between them and then shrugged.

"Did you find anything useful in that book?" Clary asked Jace.

He grinned mischievously and nodded.

"Well!?" Clary demanded after a few minutes of silence.

Jocelyn laughed. "You guys will do great together. I can't wait to see what you do." She looked off into the distance and then stood up. "I have to go though; you're messenger is on his way. Remember what we talked about Clary and I fully expect to be talking to you in person before you go to Idris." She gave them both a hug before walking into the fog that seemed to surround them for a brief moment.

When the fog had cleared, there stood an angel. Jace and Clary stood side by side to meet their messenger and Jace bowed low to the angel.

"Greetings, Wise One." He said, still not looking directly at the angel. Clary, on the other hand, was standing straight up and trying not to laugh at the spectacle Jace was making of himself. She supposed this was how he was taught to talk to angels, but it looked kind of silly to her.

She finally gave into her giggles and the angel smiled at her.

"Thank you for the respect, my child, but it is alright to address me informally. You will soon be considered a brother, it is not necessary to speak so formally. Your bondmate has already met and spoken with me. Please sit down; we have much to discuss and so little time." He gestured to the bench behind them and they sat down.

"As you know, both your body and mind will go through a severe change as they try to catch up to what your soul already knows: you were made for each other. There is a war coming. You need to be prepared; training together not only with weapons or hand to hand, but with your _minds_."

Clary looked over at Jace and grinned at the look of undisguised glee on his face. 'More training' he mouthed at her and winked. She rolled her eyes in response and looked towards the angel again.

He looked at the pair of them expectantly and when they didn't speak he asked, "Do you have any questions?"

The teens looked at each other and as one, asked "Who are you?"

He smiled at them, "I am Chamuel. I was sent here by the angel Raziel to help you walk in the light."

"Walk in the light? What does that-" Clary was cut off by fog obscuring her view of the angel.

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Clary woke to find an arm thrown over her waist and the hand attached curled around her hip. She momentarily panicked and then calmed when she realized that the arm was one that she had drawn many times. She turned under his arm and looked up at his face. He was so peaceful when he slept; without trouble or stress and not worried about his father…wait his father. If Valentine was her father then who was his? She looked up at his face and decided not to push the issue, at least not right now. She couldn't bear to wake him up to discuss the future so instead she ran her fingers through his hair and down his shoulder to his chest.

_Wow. _She thought and ran her hand over his chest again…and again…and again. She was pretty sure she could do this all day and not get tired of it. She watched his chest rise and fall with his breath and she couldn't help herself; she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his shirt-covered chest. When she felt, rather than heard, the sharp intake of breath, she glanced up and met his gaze.

His eyes glittered with something she couldn't quite identify and his arms tightened around her. He gently moved her up his chest and pressed his lips against hers in a tender kiss.

"So we can start our training later, right?" He murmured against her lips before he gently took her bottom lip in his and bit down. She gasped and he took the opportunity to sweep his tongue in to meet hers. She was glad they were lying down because she wasn't sure if she could've stood up at this point. His hand ran up her back and into her hair to get a better grip. She snuggled more deeply into him and his other hand moved to hold her more firmly against him; he didn't want her tempted to break this off now that they started. She scoffed at the thought; like she would ever move away from him now.

They gasped at the same time.

In seconds they were standing a foot away from each other in front of the couch.

"No way!" Jace said looking at Clary trying to catch her breath. He thought some dirty thoughts just to see how she would react and when she still looked at him with a blank expression he knew she hadn't 'heard' him. _Too bad_, he thought. Some of those sounded like they would be A LOT of fun.

"Did I just hear your thoughts?" Clary said, a dazed expression on her face.

They studied each other for a long moment and then Jace said in his usual cocky manner, "This could be so much fun!"

**I am sooo sooo sooo sorry this took so long. More to come SOON. I promise!**


	15. Packing for Idris Part 2

**Hello again! I know, I am only like a week later than I told you I would be. See!? I'm getting better. ******** I'm sorry, I've been uber busy and sick as well. YUCK**

**Anyways, I am really worried that this isn't good like it used to be. I look back and my early chapters and think those are sooo much better. In short, I need reassurance that this is still worth writing. I have plans for this story and am super excited about them, but I need to know that you guys still want this story. (My ego needs help, in other words) **

**I need to remind everyone that I do not own these characters, nor am I making any profit from it. Also, there will be some minor spoilers for City of Glass. BE WARE! (Although, if you haven't read it yet, what are you waiting for!?)**

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Clary looked at Jace, incredulously. "Fun? Are you crazy!? How is any of this fun?"

"Think about it, Clary!" Jace said excitedly, bouncing on the balls of his feet in his excitement. When her expression didn't change, he grabbed her hand and said, "Come here and I will show you" Jace said, pulling her over to the couch. Halfway there, however, Clary gasped and stopped.

Jace turned to look at her and saw the blush quickly taking over her face and chuckled. "Sorry."

"Jace! You think those thoughts about me?" Jace could tell she was shocked.

"Did you really just ask me that question?" Jace took her by the hand again and led her over to the couch. Once they were seated he took both of her hands in his and looked her straight in the eye. "Clary, ever since that first time I saw you, I haven't been able to keep my mind on anything else. The way you look, the way you walk, hell, even the way you smell has my mind going places I can only go when I'm by myself because it would be hard to explain." He said, putting a lot of emphasis on the word hard. She giggled.

"I know you are nervous about going that far, but I can't help that my mind goes there every time you touch me, whether it's casual or not. I won't pressure you into doing anything you don't want to do, but please know that I don't have a lot of control when it comes to you." He said earnestly and seriously for once.

Clary studied his face and after a moment leaned in and kissed him gently. "Thank you" she said against his lips. He groaned and tried to start the kiss again, but she backed away.

"Just one more?" Jace begged.

Clary looked at him and knew that she was not going to be able to resist him for very much longer and Jace, sensing this, closed the gap between them. He gently took the back of her neck and moved her closer to him and their lips met. She sighed and sank into him fully while he wrapped his arms around her more tightly. Flashes of what they could be doing went through his mind and into hers and she groaned low in the back of her throat. At the sound, Jace picked her up and set her on his lap with her legs wrapped around him. He slid his hands up the back of her shirt to push her into him. Clary had a moment of clarity (no pun intended) and she whispered against his lips "I thought you were going to show me how we could use this new super power to conquer the world or vanquish evil or whatever it is that you wanted to do."

Jace looked at her with his tawny eyes darkened with his desire for her and said, " 'or whatever I want to do' sounds like a good option right now.", but after a moment he grinned cockily and winked, "You would be great as my dark queen, ruler of the world."

"Only if I got a kickass costume." She answered with a grin of her own.

She saw herself through his eyes sitting on the couch with him as he suddenly moves, his arm swinging back and hitting her. She couldn't believe it.

She saw his eyes dart to her and she swung her arm out to block his hit when he was about five inches from her face.

"Jace!" She yelled. "What the hell!?"

"Clary, stop yelling. I wasn't going to really hit you. Look! You blocked it before it I could anyway. This is what I meant: you and I could become the ultimate fighting team. We can even have those costumes if you want." Jace said, grinning like mad.

Clary shook her head. "You are nuts. You really want to do this?"

"Oh come on, Clary! You heard what Chamuel said. We need to train for this war that's coming and you know who is going to be leading the dark side."

Clary giggled, "Use the force, Luke."

Jace looked at her for a moment and then shook his head; he wasn't even going to ask. "Valentine. We are going to fight Valentine. We can lead this war!" Jace said, getting up to pace in his excitement.

"Sure, we can defeat Valentine and then travel to different worlds to destroy the demons on their home worlds. You know what we should do then? We should strengthen the wards so that the demons can't come through to our dimension!" Clary said, sarcastically.

Jace didn't seem to sense her attitude; instead he continued to pace the floor in front of the couch muttering about battle strategies and training schedules. Clary had a feeling this was going to be a long day.

After a few moments with no change from Jace, she walked into the kitchen only to find Magnus, Alec, Luke and Isabelle standing around the kitchen island eating pizza.

"What are you guys doing here?" She asked, moving to get a slice of pizza.

"We thought you might want to have a war meeting when you guys were done talking. From what Magnus was telling us, those runes means a lot of change for us and for the Clave." explained Luke with a smile.

Clary laughed, "That will save Jace a few phone calls. He's in the living room muttering and pacing."

"Never a good sign." Isabelle and Alec said together.

Clary laughed again. "Jace." She called out. "Come in here please."

Alec was looking at Clary like she had two heads. "What are you doing? There is no way he is going to come just 'cause you call him."

Luke and Magnus chuckled and Isabelle laughed outright when Jace came into the kitchen. Alec was shocked into silence and Magnus had to reach over and close his jaw for him.

"Great! You're all here. We need to talk about how we are going to take down Valentine." Jace said, coming to stand by Clary.

Clary sighed and pulled a chair over so she could sit; war talks were never short talks. Isabelle smiled at the gesture and moved to stand between her and Jace so they could whisper, while the men talked.

"So? Have you and Jace decided what you're going to do yet?" Isabelle asked.

"Jace said something about conquering all evil and then ruling the world. All I know is that there is more training coming." Clary said with a shrug and a scowl.

"Yes" Isabelle said wiggling her eyebrows, "but more training with Jace is just foreplay."

"Shhhh, Is! Jace will hear you." Clary said, looking around Isabelle to make sure that Jace was still preoccupied with the war planning. He wasn't. He was looking straight at her and he winked, showing her that he had heard everything. She groaned and rolled her eyes at the other girl. Isabelle winced at Clary and mouthed an apology before she moved off sit with her brother. Jace, without looking at her, grabbed her chair and pulled her closer to him so that their thighs were touching. Clary suddenly saw everything through Jace's eyes.

Jace wasn't giving the conversation his full attention, but then again, Clary guessed he never gave anything his full attention. _Except you, _his voice said to her.

He was almost constantly scanning the room, paying extra attention to the points of entry. He was also constantly aware of Clary and where she was at all times; always making sure that she was safe and in his line of sight.

Clary came back into her own head and sighed with exhaustion. This had been a very long day and she couldn't even remember what they all had been talking about. All she had heard was 'big war' blah blah 'Valentine' blah blah. She was so tired. She was just starting to wonder if she could sneak off to her old bedroom when Jace suddenly held up a hand for silence and looked at her.

_Are you ready to go back to the Institute? _Jace asked nonverbally.

She shrugged and thought, _What I should tell him is that I am ready if he is ready, but he will never be ready! I need sleep now._

Jace grinned at her, _Honey, are you that tired that you don't remember I can hear you now?_

Clary glared at him. _What's with this 'Honey' crap? Do I look like a 'honey' to you? _

Jace chuckled, _You are pretty sweet._

Clary growled low in the back of her throat, _Not now, Wayland. Just get me home. _

Magnus knocked his fist against the table, as if he were knocking on a door, and said, "I hate to bother you two, but need I remind you that not all of us can hear this conversation you are having? It's rude to leave us out."

"Wait a minute. Are you saying they just had a conversation? In their minds? So we couldn't hear it?" asked Luke, stunned.

"_They will be of one mind when their blood recognizes that which is in the other._ That's what the book said." said Jace before anyone could say anything. Clary noticed he had picked up her hand sometime in when she wasn't looking, so she started a mantra in her head, just to annoy him. 'Sleep, Sleep, Sleep'

Jace grinned at her, _I know you want to get me in bed, but please, I am trying to hold a conversation here._

Clary, vindictive due to lack of sleep and emotional stress said, _Oh baby, take me now. _To which, she added lots of 'pictures'.

Jace stood up, immediately. "It's been a long day and Clary and I would like some time to ourselves." Clary started to laugh, but stopped when Luke gave her the 'father' look. For someone who wasn't actually a father, he had that look down to an art.

"Not until we get a few things straight." Luke said and Clary thought she could detect a slight growl in those words. She wondered if he were speaking from an Alpha point of view, or a father's.

Clary sighed and pulled Jace back down to sit with her, wishing she could be on the couch again, curled up with him. He grinned down at her and whispered in her ear, "I think we need more couches at the institute, don't you?"

"Why? What did you do on my couch?" Luke demanded, but there was a slight twinkle in his eye.

Jace started to mutter something about a wolf's hearing but stopped when Luke growled again.

"Listen up, people." Jace said, getting upset. "The runes that appeared mean that Clary and I were made for each other. Let me repeat that so we are clear: made for each other. Not destined to be together, but designed to be together. We are a part of each other and if anyone has a problem with that, we might as well get that out right now."

There was silence for a few heartbeats and then everyone started speaking at once. Clary and Jace exchanged a look, and then Clary said, _If I put an extra powerful invisibility rune on us, do you think they would still be able to see us? Or how about a stopping time rune, does that exist? Does it really matter if it exists because I will just make one up if we need to. Jace, _(Jace was amazed that she could manage a whine in her voice even when she wasn't using it.) _I want to go sleep. I'm tired. Can we please just call it a day and deal with this tomorrow? _

Jace looked at everyone talking at once and then back at Clary_, With one condition._

She nodded and he continued, _I want to sleep with you again. _

Clary felt a tingle run down her spine and knew that Jace sensed her reaction through the bond when he grinned at her, knowing she was going to agree with his condition almost before she decided she _was_ going to agree with it.

Clary's attention was drawn away from Jace when she realized what Luke was saying.

"What would your mother think? Not even 18 yet and you are all ready to conquer the world. Literally."

Clary stood up, her temper clearly showing Luke what she thought of his words, "Excuse me? Don't you think I would talk to her about this before I made any decisions?"

Luke looked astonished and Magnus leaned forward interestedly, "You mean you've spoken to your mother recently?"

"Yes, a few times now." Clary said, looking back and forth from Magnus and Luke who were exchanging looks of surprise.

"What?" she asked getting annoyed with their silence.

"You aren't supposed to be able to communicate with her while she is in this type of magical coma." Luke explained.

Jace and Clary shrugged in unison, but only Jace spoke, "Listen, I know that you all have a lot of questions, but we have a lot of things to discuss by ourselves. Does anyone mind if we head back to the Institute?"

Everyone started to talk at once. "Great" Jace said over all the noise, "We will meet in the Library tomorrow morning to continue this."

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_Back in the greenhouse room:_

Jace watched Clary get ready for bed, moving things back and forth and generally avoiding his gaze.

"Clary, are you going to avoid me all night?" Jace asked, lying back against the head board with his hands locked behind his head.

She took a deep breath and nodded quickly and turned towards the bathroom. Like lightning, Jace was between her and the bathroom door. She stopped just short of colliding with him and looked down, not wanting to look into his eyes for fear she would give in to anything he wanted.

"Please don't do this. Don't shut me out." Jace whispered as he wrapped her in his arms.

"I'm so confused. I don't know what I am supposed to do." She answered with her head in his chest.

"I don't want to sound like a silly mundane TV movie, but what does your heart tell you?" He asked, leaning down to murmur in her ear. Clary shivered in his arms and he chuckled. "I know what I do to you, why won't you just let me love you?"

"What happened to 'To love is to destroy'?" She asked, trying to pull away from him.

He didn't let her go, but swung her up into his arms to carry her over to the bed. He gently set her down with her head on the pillow and he curled up next to her.

"I've been thinking about that and I think it's a load of bull shit." Jace said calmly. "It came from a man who has demons do his dirty work for him and has kidnapped children to use their blood for his own means. I highly doubt he would know what love is, let alone what it does."

Clary turned to look at him and realized that he had smoothly positioned them so he was holding her and his head was on her pillow. She giggled at him, despite the serious conversation: he was smooth and crafty. And he was _all_ hers. She stopped giggling and tried to take a deep breath, suddenly finding that she couldn't breathe.

'All hers'- her mind just couldn't wrap around that. This boy, this warrior, this wonderful specimen was created especially for her. And also, created to protect the world from evil, but mostly he was all hers.

"You know, that's not all I am good at." Jace said into her ear and followed his declaration with soft kisses down her neck.

"But what if, you only love me because you were created to." Clary's voice was raised and she had an almost desperate look to her.

Jace sat up and smiled at her. "Is that what you are worried about? That's stupid Clary. I love you for who you are, not what you are. I love you because I am your other half, not because I was created to love you. We always have a choice."

"But…but…Jace. What if I can't fight demons? What if I turn out to be a horrible Shadowhunter?"

He took her hands and held them tightly, "You are going to be a wonderful Shadowhunter. This is what you were made to do. I once told you that it was in your blood and you would learn how to handle weapons if you really needed to. Well, here is your chance. I really need you to learn and I know that you will. You will be an awesome Shadowhunter. Besides," he said his cocky attitude firmly in place, "you will have the _best_ teacher."

"Really? I didn't know Alec was going to be teaching me." She teased.

"I will show you who's the best!" he declared with a war-like yell and tackled her. All of her training with Isabelle paid off and she had just enough time to brace herself for when he hit. She let his momentum carry him over her, using her feet to flip him onto his back.

She swung her weight and followed him over so she straddled him.

"Is that all you've got?" She was grinning madly at him from where she was seated on him.

He returned the grin wholeheartedly and flipped them over so he was straddling her.

"Oh, I'm just getting started" he breathed into her ear while leaning over her; their upper bodies touching.

She let out the breath she was holding and grabbed the back of his head, pulling on it until their lips met in a searing kiss. Heat flashed through her and into him through the bond. He made a sound in the back of his throat and lowered his hips to hers causing her to throw her leg over the back of his thigh in response. She arched her back to try and get more contact with his body and he slid his hands up her back beneath her shirt and had her bra undone before she could register what he was doing.

Indecision flashed through her briefly, but not fast enough that he didn't catch it. His hands stilled instantly. She groaned, arching her back even more to get him to move again. He caught her hands, which were trying to roam into places he _really_ wanted them to, and pulled her out from under him and into a sitting position in front of him.

She looked hurt and he felt rejection through the bond. "No no no. I'm not saying no to you. I would _never_ say no to you. I need you more than I need air. Clary, please don't feel that way. I love you. You're the one that still has that tiny bit of uncertainty and I told you I wouldn't push you." Jace explained, taking her into his arms and holding her against his chest.

Before she could tear up, he kissed her gently and moved them into a more comfortable position on the bed. He held her to him and slowly they both calmed enough to sleep. The last thing she remembered is him tenderly kissing her cheek and murmuring, "I do love you, Clary."

**Ok guys. I am really hoping you are all enjoying this still. I know that I haven't given a lot of their thoughts on what their powers mean to them and their relationship- don't worry! More in the next chapter. Please review and let me know. I **_**need**_** feedback! **


	16. Ch 16 things settled and plans made

Hey Everyone. I am very ashamed at how long this took me. The sad part is that I have had this written for a while but I was just so busy I couldn't finish it. Short update- for a few months I was working 50-60 hours at work (which I thought was hell…), while trying to get pregnant (which was a lot more fun than hell…) but now here I am 3 months pregnant and laid off (…may God heap burning coals on their heads) and suddenly Jace's voice comes to me, through the dry heaving.

Jace- Excuse me, but I think that Clary and I have been waiting very patiently and frankly you owe us and all the fans out there. Sit down and write.

Me- Alright. Alright. I am so sorry. Of course you all deserve it. Thank you for your patience and hopefully we can finish this up soon. I totally know where this is going!

**Clary woke up in the circle of Jace's arms for the second day in a row. She wondered if this was going to be a regular occurrence or just something they did when they needed each other. Although if that were the case then it was going to be a daily occurrence because she felt like she needed him more everyday. She wondered if that was her developing feelings or the fact that her blood called out to his. There was always a question of freewill in their relationship. Did they like each other because they were meant for each other or because they were **_**meant**_** for each other? It was all very mind boggling and Clary never got psychology anyway. She kept running through questions of their relationship in her mind. Was this relationship their choice or something preordained. And what if one of them decided later on that they didn't like the other? What would happen then? Clary tossed and turned with her indecision and confusion. Jace, sensing it on a sub-conscious level, reached out and stroked her back and murmured soothing sounds. Clary had to laugh; this was not Jace at all. Jace doesn't make soothing sounds. Doesn't say that its all going to be okay just to tell you that it was going to be okay. Jace never lied. And maybe it really was going to be okay. Maybe he had some pre-conceived notion of- **

_**Ugh. Stop, **_**Clary thought to herself **_**just stop. This is getting you no where, and you're just confusing yourself. Stuff is going to happen whether you want it to or not. Just let it go.**_

**Clary wasn't sure if it was her making the decision, or her body making it for her. Or was it the connection she had with Jace, making it for both of them? She didn't know what it was, but she **_**was**_** making this decision and she was going to stick with it. She was making the effort to let this relationship progress any way it was going to. She was tired of thinking about it.**

**Clary ran through the exercises she was taught to relax her muscles so she could sleep. She slowly relaxed every muscle in her body, from the top of her head to the bottoms of her feet. Finally, when she was relaxed completely, she drifted to sleep.**

****

**In her dream, Clary was running down a hallway. Not running for her life, as she seemed to do so often these days, but running just to run. When she got to the end of the hallway, a hand reached out to grab her. She knew instinctively that it was Jace, so she let herself be pulled into the room. He swung her into his arms and laughed. "What are you doing?" he asked playfully. **

**Clary looked at him and saw the carefree person he could be if he could just relax without all the pressure the Clave put on him. Clary couldn't help but laugh with him. **

"**Just running."**

**He shook his head at her and pulled her farther into the room. "Come here, I want to show you something."**

**He led her over to a desk that had a large book laid out on it. **

"**What's this?" she asked.**

"**It's a book of prophecy."**

"**Prophecies? Those don't exist, do they?:"**

**He looked at her incredulously. "Prophesies don't exist? Come on, Clary! We battle demons everyday. Your friend is a vampire and your guardian is a werewolf. You're telling me that you don't think prophesies don't exist?"**

"**Well, no, I…I…" Clary stuttered to a stop and then said. "Of course they exists. Everything exists."**

"**Everything exists." Jace repeated thoughtfully. "How very philosophically of you, Clary."**

**She glared at him. "Jace, shut up."**

"**Ok, ok" he conceited, his hands raised in surrender and she could've sworn she heard him mutter under his breath- "You are so grumpy today."**

"**What are we doing here anyway?" Clary demanded. **

**Jace turned away from the book and looked closely at her. "Really? You really don't remember that we've been here for an entire week? This is the house that Valentine kept me in. We've been searching it for clues as to where he's been hiding. You don't remember?"**

**Clary looked at him steadily. "No, I don't" she said slowly. The last thing Clary remembers is sleeping with Jace in her room at the institute. There was still two days before they left for Idris. She shrugged mentally and decided she was just going to go along with it. **

"**Of course I remember, Jace." she said, laughing unconvincingly. "I was just testing you."**

"**So where did you find this?" She asked, trying to get him back onto the subject of the book so he would forget what she had asked. **

"**In the attic. I didn't even know this house had an attic and I searched every inch of it when I was little." he answered.**

**They both turned as one to look down at the book. It had a beautiful brown leather binding, worn with age. Clary gingerly stroked her hand over the cover and gasped when she felt a slight surge of power come off the book. **

"**Jace" Clary said uncertainly, "I don't know if we should open this. I don't know if we should even be touching it."**

"**Come on, where is your sense of adventure?" Jace asked and started to open the book.**

**Suddenly there was a great crash behind them. The door burst open and three demons crashed in. As one, they turned to face the oncoming assault. Clary reached back to retrieve her knife that was normally in her belt, only to find that it was missing. Jace whirled, sensing her shock, and she asked, "Where's my knife?"**

"**You gave it Max. Remember? You said something about him needing it more than you did."**

**She studied his face and then thought about the knife no more because the first demon got tired of being ignored and lunged towards Jace. Clary acted on instinct and the need to protect her mate. She pulled Jace's sword out of its sheath and jumped backwards onto the desk so she had an advantage over the advancing horde. Taking a step back, she launched herself towards the demon, bringing the sword down as she went, landing in front of the two pieces that used to be the demon. She didn't turn to watch it disappear as she had done in the past, choosing instead to attack the demon to her left. After that one was dead she looked up to see Jace standing over her. **

"**What do you think you are doing?" He demanded and hauled her up by her arm. **

**She started to protest his attitude but stopped when she heard a strange noise behind her. They turned to see the demons they had killed slowly coming back together and reappearing as if someone had pushed the rewind button. Clary stared in horrid fascination.**

"**By the Angel, what are we going to do if we can't even kill them in our dimension?" Jace asked of no one in particular. **

"**That is a very good question and can I just say how hot I am?" a voice commented from her left. Clary whipped around to see…Jace. Except this Jace was in his pajamas and his hair looked distinctly disheveled. **

**The Jace on her right didn't seem to notice the other Jace and she had a fleeting thought that this could be a fun experience- two Jaces, but then the demons were coming back together with a sickening wet sound. The Jace on her right was quickly scanning the library and seem to find what he was looking for. He ran over to the window and flung it open with enough force to shatter the glass. He muttered under his breath and then looked back at her. **

"**Clary! Grab that book and lets go! There is no way we are going to be able to fight demons that won't go back to their own dimension!" Clary felt herself nod and then stepped forward to meet Jace, but only half of her went. **

**Jace, the sleepier version, and Clary, the one that stayed, looked on helplessly as two versions of themselves left the room. **

"**Do you want to tell me what's going on with those demons and why was I am here?"**

**Clary tried to open her mouth, but what was she going to say? "I have a small idea, but it is going to take a long time to explain."**

"**Please, allow me." Said a comforting voice from behind them. **

**They turned to see Chamuel standing there with a small smile on his face. "It may not seem like it to you, but you both have come a long way since we first spoke. The runes you wear are slowly but surely opening all of your senses to each other. You are able to speak to each other without words, yes?" They nodded and he continued, "It is as I thought. This is only the beginning to something beautiful. You have a made leaps and bounds to becoming one with each other." He turned to face Clary directly, "I am very proud of your decision you made this morning. It showed wisdom and trust in the higher power. You will be rewarded for your faith. Do not fear, my child, your fears are natural." He smiled gently down at her and then turned towards Jace. "You are doing wonderful as well, my child. Protecting what is yours, trying to put her first. I am very proud of you.**

**Now, we need to speak quickly about what just happened. This was a vision that you had concerning the future. I can only tell you two things: first, you need to pay extra special attention to every detail, no matter how small you think it is. Second, there is a sword that was created in order to vanquish demons in this dimension and their dimension. Unfortunately, I can not tell you where it is or who made it. I can only take you so far." Chamuel looked up at the ceiling and Clary had the distinct impression he was communicating with someone they couldn't see. He nodded up at the ceiling and then he smiled down at them. **

"**I know you can do this…" he said as he faded to nothing.**

**Jace and Clary exchanged looks of incredulous. **

**Jace shook his head saying, "This should be interesting."**

**Clary grinned an evil grin. "Isn't it always?"**

**Clary didn't know how she knew, but she knew that this was the end of the vision or dream or whatever it was and that somehow she had pulled Jace into it. She knew that she had learned all she needed to know. Now, it was time to put it into practice. **

****

**Clary opened her eyes to see Jace's own tawny eyes staring back at her. He grinned at her and kissed her lightly on the lips. **

"**What was that?" he asked.**

"**It was a dream or vision or something. We need to pack for Idris. We are going to be leaving a couple of days earlier than planned and there is still a lot things we need to do before we can leave: we need to wake up my mother, find the sword, make sure that Magnus can get the portal opened earlier than planned and somehow find time to analyze that vision."**

**Jace looked down at her in exasperation. "You forgot something important!"**

**Clary looked surprised and then panicked. "What? Traveling arrangements? Do you think we will need to bring weapons? What are you laughing at?" she asked angrily, seeing his shoulders shake in mirth. **

"**You are so adorable. Look at you all getting ready for battle. Wait. Did I say it was adorable? I meant hot." he stated, coming back to seriousness quickly.**

**He slid his body closer to hers so he could nuzzle into her neck with his mouth. "Come on, Clary. Don't you want to just stay in bed today? The world can do without us for one day. Please?" His last word was whispered into her ear and she shivered when she heard him pleading. **

**His kissed from her ear, down her jaw line and finally met her lips. She sighed in acceptance and he took advantage by sliding his tongue against hers. They fought for dominance until finally she gave it, breaking away to breath. He didn't stop though; he just kept kissing every inch that he could reach without moving her clothes, knowing instinctively that she wasn't ready to deal with that yet.**

**Jace looked up from her neck to find her eyes closed and her mouth parted so she could breath quick, short pants of air. She was beautiful and he couldn't help but picture what she would look like when they finally took that final step. How she would gasp his name when he slowly slid into her and the way she would moan when they were finally, completely joined together. Clary took a shuddering breath, meeting his eyes and seeing the desire they held for her. She smiled shyly up at him and he grinned down at her. **

"**Some day soon, Clary, you will surrender to me and we will both be much happier for it." Jace kissed her neck one last time, sucking on it slightly to make a mark because he couldn't resist letting the rest of the world know that he got to touch that special spot and then rolled off of her.**

**Clary jumped out of bed saying, "We have so much to do today!" She continued to mutter to herself as she got every thing out.**

_**Jace sat on Clary's bed watching her pack for Idris. They were leaving the day after tomorrow and she was already packing. Jace started to shake his head, but then he caught sight of what she just packed and sat up. **_

_**"Just how much of my clothes do you have?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. **_

_**She giggled and shrugged. "I lost count a while ago". **_

_**He grinned at her and got off the bed, heading towards her. **_

_**"And how shall I punish you for stealing my clothes?" He stepped around her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She giggled again and lifted her head to kiss him. He leaned down and let his lips gently brush hers. This was the best part of the rune; he was allowed to touch her now. **_

_**When they finally separated he went back to the bed to stare at her while she packed. He thought all that had happened since the day they found the book and runes.**_

**She seemed to have come to a decision regarding their relationship, but he wasn't quite sure what it was. He could sense through the bond that she was more accepting of his physical advances and he couldn't wait to start up their training again. Just the thought of touching her again was enough to make his heart race and other parts of his body respond.**

**It was wonderful knowing that he would never have to be alone again. He remembered her asking him if he believed in God and telling her that he wasn't sure if God existed, but the point was: they were on their own. In this case, he was quite happy to be proven wrong. It was wonderful to know that God was there and looking out for them. How great is it that something so powerful could care about what he, Jace, did? He knew that the next few weeks were going to be challenging, but he couldn't wait to go through it all with Clary by his side.**

**And as for Valentine, he was going down. What kind of man takes a boy and raises him as his own? Lying the entire time? What type of psycho treats his wife so badly that she leaves him? They were going to get down to the bottom of this and first thing they needed to do what wake up Clary's mom. **

**There was knock on the door and a small voice came through the door, "Clary? Jace? Are you guys in there? Magnus and a bunch of other people just showed up. They are waiting in the library for you." **

"**Alright, Max, thank you. We will be down in a few minutes." Jace came out of his thoughts turning to see Clary sitting on her suitcase, struggling to get it zipped. **

"**A little help here?" she managed from her precarious position on the too-stuffed suitcase. **

"**Why didn't you just put it into two suitcases?" he asked coming over to help zip.**

"**This way we only have to take this one for both of us. I just kind of over stuffed it." Clary said, breathing heavy from her struggle. **

"**Kind of? Clary, I don't think that this zipper is going to last the entire-" he cut off abruptly looking up at her from between her legs where he had kneeled to fix the zipper that got stuck. Realizing what she said, he asked, "Just one for the both of us? Clary, just how many clothes of mine do you have?" **

**She smiled down at him gently, "Alright, I confess- I've been stealing your clothes slowly for a little while now. I picked up the last few things this morning."**

**He looked at her shocked for a moment. She had been stealing his clothes. Not only that, but she had packed for the both of them. That, more than anything else, showed him how much she wanted a relationship with him and how serious she took it.**

**He smiled up at her, gently sliding a curl behind her ear and reached up to kiss her, but before he could there was a knock on the door. They both looked towards the door as it opened, Jace praying it wasn't Luke because he wasn't sure how he was going to explain their position, but it was just Max again.**

"**Guys, Magnus says that he's going to send Luke up here if you guys aren't downstairs quick! But what does it matter if Luke is up here?" **

**Clary and Jace exchanged looks and then Clary said, "Max, that might be something you ask Alec." Clary looked at Jace and winked and then took off out the door with Max close on her heels. "Last one there is a forsaken!"**

**They raced through the greenhouse, down the stairs and along the numerous hallways. Clary could feel Jace behind them, and she knew without a doubt that he was letting them win, but she wasn't about to complain. Max was laughing so hard he could hardly run, and Clary, trying to keep up with the pretense, grabbed him around the waist and helped him along, laughing hysterically herself. All three of them came rushing around the corner and into the center of the library, but Clary stopped midway when she saw who was sitting with Luke. Max, not noticing she had stopped, ran into her, knocking her towards the edge of a table that had just appeared; Jace, however, saw what was about to happen and sped past them both in time to catch Clary before she got seriously hurt. It all happened so fast, Clary blinked and she found herself in Jace's arms underneath the table.**

**She giggled, "Thank you."**

_**I think that deserves a kiss, don't you? **_**Jace asked silently.**

**She nodded and leaned in, but just as their lips met, Jace was hauled away from her and she was left on the floor. Simon reached out and helped her to a seat.**

**The man with Luke had a strong hold on Jace, who wasn't struggling but looking at him with shock. **

"**Mathias? What are you doing here?" Jace asked, as the other man let go of him and he sat down next to Clary, subconsciously sliding his arm around her waist and pulling her closer. **

"**I think some explanations are in order." Luke said, and gestured for them to sit down. **

**Clary looked around the table and smiled; it looked like everything was coming together nicely. Sam and Mia were sitting quite close together, while Magnus and Alec were deep in conversation. Isabelle was talking to Max, and Luke was looking at Jace like he was going to kill him. **_**This should be fun.**_

**Luke stood, "Clary, this is Mathias who is the weapons trainer for the Clave. He says that someone sent him a message saying that he was needed here, but it wasn't signed. Do you know anything about this?" **

**Clary took a hold of Jace's hand. **_**Did you do this? **_**She asked silently. **

_**No, but we do need him. **_**He winked at her. **_**I think that we need to just go with it. **_

**Jace hedged around Luke's question, "Thank you for coming Mathias; we need your help. Clary and I have heard stories of a sword that can kill a demon in both this dimension and its home dimension. Do you know anything about that?"**

**Mathias, a tall muscular black man, stood and placed his hands on the table. "What are you talking about? I have never heard of anything like this sword you are talking about. Where did you hear about it? Do you know who made it? I need more information than just what the sword does."**

**Magnus spoke from his seat, "I don't think it exists, but I could search for it anyway? Do you know where it was last seen?"**

**Clary touched Jace, **_**What if it hasn't been made yet and that's why Chamuel couldn't tell us more information? **_**She tapped him a few times in her excitement.**_** Jace, what would happen if we made a sword using our blood? I know that the ritual that Valentine used on the Soul Sword used the blood of Downworlder children, but what about our blood? We have more angel blood than most shadow hunters? **_

**Jace gaped at her, **_**That's a great idea! **_

"**Umm, hello? We are waiting." Simon said, leaning forward to get their attention with a scowl on his face. **

"**We have an idea." Clary and Jace said together. **

**So I know that this chapter didn't have a lot of substance to it, but I needed to set up a lot of things for the next few chapters. What you need to realize right now is that Clary is willing to let whatever is going to happen in her relationship with Jace, just happen. Also, they are slowly coming together, which is vitally important as well. I've already started on this next chapter. Hopefully I can post it soon, and we can get this story back on track. Thanks for your patience. **


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